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A Curriculum Development Process:
The Lesotho Experience
by
Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisidi
B.A., C.C.E. University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, 1970
M.A. University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1976
Hons. B.A. University of South Africa, 1978
A SPECIAL PROJECT SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENT FOR EDUCATION 881 AND PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF
THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION
in the Faculty
of
Education
Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisidi 1981
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
September 1981
All rights reserved. This work may not bereproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy
or other means, without permission of the author.
Name:
Degree:
Title of Project:
Examining Committee:
Chairman:
APPROVAL
Bethuel P. Mosisidi
Master of Arts (Education)
A Curriculum Development Process:The Lesotho Experience
J. TuinmanSenior Supervisor
S. De CastellSecond Member
J. WyattAssistant ProfessorFaculty of EducationSimon Fraser UniversityExternal Examiner
Date approved C:2"'::~~_---l..l....t...!-+~~/L_
ii
PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE
I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend
my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below)
to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or
single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the
I ibrary of any other university, or other educational institution, on
its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission
for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted
by me or the Dean of Graduate Studi es. It is understood that copy i ng
or publ ication of this work for financial gain shal I not be al lowed
without my written permission.
Title of Thesis/Project/Extended Essay
A CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: THE LESOT}lO EXPERIENCE
Author:
(sIgnature)
(name) I.5~li:~ II. 1ft!
Bethuel P. Mosisidi
(date)
ABSTR/l.CT
This study reviews and analyses the curriculum development process
in Lesotho during the first decade of independence (1966-1978).
Information for the study was collected in the summer of 1980 when the
writer was in Lesotho on a home attachment programme sponsored by the
Canadian International Development Agency. The focus of attention is
on the process, not the structure, of curriculum change.
The introduction outlines attempts to reform the educational system
from shortly after independence in 1966 to the 1978 National Seminar on
Education. During that time successive committees were appointed to
effect change, culminating with the launching of the National Dialogue
on Education.
Chapter II explores the inadequacies of the colonial educational
system, its organizational structures, financial and material resources,
"was tage", examinations and curriculum content.
Chapter III traces the process of change during the first phase of
curriculum reform, highlighting a number of initial measures. It
follows the metamorphosis of committees from the embryonic curriculum
unit of 1966 to the full-fledged National Curriculum Development
Committee (1977).
Chapter IV discusses preparations for the National Dialogue.
Significant features of the modi operandi included the use of
traditional Lipitso (public and open meetings) in addition to
questionnaires; consultants were drawn from sister African countries;
procedures and criteria for representation at the seminar are fully
explicated.
iii
Chapter V focuses on the proceedings of the culminating seminar,
presenting overviews of public opinions considered therein.
Chapter VI evaluates the context of curriculum change in Lesotho;
it interprets the crude statements of parents' aspirations and
expectations into five broad aims of national education. It emphasizes
the role of teachers in curriculum development and comments on the place
and type of foreign aid in curriculum development.
Chapter VII recommends a model for curriculum design consisting of
three elements: aims and objectives; selections of curriculum content;
evaluation procedures. It addresses the need for a fully expounded
national philosophy from which the goals of education can be derived.
Zambian "Humanism" and Tanzanian "Soc ialism" are cited as illustrations.
Finally, the notion of free and compulsory basic education of flexible
duration is propounded as an alternative for Lesotho.
iv
ACKNOVJLE DGEMENTS
I wish to express my sincere gratitude and deep appreciation to the
following persons and organizations for their assistance in the
preparation of this report:
Dr. Jaap Tuinman, my Senior Supervisor, for his invaluable guidance,
and for the time as \'Iell as the effort he expended in working with me;
Dr. Suzanne DeCastell, the second member on my Supervisory Committee,
for her enthusiasm, attention to detail, and comments throughout the
project;
Dr. Ishmael R. M. Moletsane and Dr. E. Molapi Sebatane of the
Faculty of Education at the University of Lesotho for encouragement and
help with information materials for the project;
India and Dorothy Musokotwane for assistance in procuring materials
on Zambia's Educational Reform and "Humanism"; for the moral and material
support they readily extended to me;
Geni Adams for fastidiously typing the manuscript; the Canadian
International Development Agency for sponsoring my studies in Canada; and
the National University of Lesotho for granting me study leave;
IMathato, my wife, and our children for unswerving support and
encouragement; and for the many sacrifices endured for my sake.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ApprovalAbstractAcknowledgementsTable of Contents
Pageiiiiivvi
CHAPTER III THE FIRST PHASE OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
INTRODUCTION
WHY CURRICULUM REFORM?
2.1 A Legacy of Organization Structures2.2 Financial and Material Resources2.3 Wastage in the Educational System2.4 Examinations and Curriculum Content
1
7
791012
17
3.1 The 1967 Primary Syllabus and Experimentation 173.2 The Curriculum Unit: an fmbryo 193.3 The Primary Curriculum Panel and Subject
Panels 203.4 The Primary Research and Development Unit 233.5 The Curriculum Committee 25
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
PREPARING FOR THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE AND SEMINAR
4.1 Briefing Sessions4.2 Publicity4.3 Lipitso4.4 Papers for the Seminar4.5 Consultancy4.6 Representation at the Seminar
THE NATIONAL SEMINAR ON EDUCATION
27
272931323335
37
5.1 Logistics 375.2 Overviews of Public Opinions from Lipitso 385.3 An Overview of Salient Opinions from the
Questionnaire 43
CHAPTER VI EVALUATION AND INTERPRETATION 48
6.1 Educational Context of Curriculum Change 486.2 Economic and Political Context of Curriculum 506.3 Curriculum Aims and Objectives 526.4 Lipitso and Automatic Promotion 566.5 Curriculum Development and Teachers 596.6 Curriculum Development and Foreign Aid 64
vi
CHAPTER VII CONCLUSION
7.1 An Approach to Designing a Curriculum7.2 The National Philosophy of Life and
Education7.3 Basic Education
Appendix AAppendi x BAppendix CBibliography
vii
66
66
6871
75858889
CHAPTER I
Introduction
This project is essentially a historical and descriptive account of
the curriculum development process in Lesotho from shortly after
independence in October 1966 up to, and including, the three-day
National Seminar on Education in May 1978. As a former high school
teacher who participated in the National Dialogue as one of the two
official rapporteurs for the Seminar, and as a university lecturer with
a keen interest in educational matters generally, the writer not only
observed the curriculum development process in question but was actively
involved in some aspects of it.
During the period mentioned above many frantic and often poorly
coordinated efforts were made to rectify disturbing weaknesses in
Lesotho's educational system as a whole. Some of the more obvious
changes implemented after independence were, to mention only a few,
reducing the duration of the primary cycle from eight to seven years;
introducing the policy of automatic promotion in primary and secondary
schools to cope with the overcrowding which resulted from repetition of
classes; the mushrooming of new secondary and high schools to cater to
the ever-increasing number of primary school leavers; and the abolition
of the post-primary teacher training programme (the Lesotho Primary
Teacher's Certificate) with the aim of improving the level of education
for prospective teachers.
Despite the spate of curriculum changes, no attempt has been made
to date to review in systematic and comprehensive manner the process
underlying those changes. Attention has tended to focus almost
exclusively on the directions and structures of change per see In this
-2-
report, "the lens is reversed" (Toffler 1980, p. 4), and attention is
focused mainly on the process; on the various committees established to
initiate changes in the curriculum; and on the strategies underpinning
those changes. Evaluative and interpretive analysis is limited to the
last two chapters of this report. However, because the process and the
structure of change are inalienable and "each casts light on the other"
(Toffler 1980, p. 4), some structural changes are inevitably cited as
these shed light on the curriculum development process.
Approximately half-way through the period under review it was
realized that initial post-colonial reforms, while adequate for
immediate needs, did not go far enough; that they were essentially
superficial, with an overall impact similar to that of moving objects
around in a box but not altering the box itself -- "moving around the
furniture in a box whose walls had been firmly and unshakably built"
(Katz 1973, p. 27). What was required, it was argued, was a more
deliberate and long-term view of education in Lesotho, extending up to
the year 2000; and the preparation of an action plan based on that
forecast. It was further recognised that in order to be viable and
creditable the forecast and plan of action had to take full account of
public opinion. In other words, what was required was, to return to
Katz·s metaphor, "to knock down the walls of the box instead of
tinkering with what is inside" (p. 25).
During the years under discussion the United Nations International
Children1s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) had agreed to support a primary
school curriculum programme in Lesotho. Those in the Ministry of
Education responsible for implementing the UNICEF-assisted project came
-3-
to the conclusion that it would be more profitable to fit that curriculum
programme into a more comprehensive structure which went beyond the
immediate confines of that project. A consultant in the person of
Hugh Hawes, Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Education at London
University, was invited to Lesotho to produce a framework for the
implementation of the UNICEF curriculum programme. Hawes agreed that
advantage should be taken of the UNICEF project to develop a much wider
policy framework. He further proposed that in order for that policy
framework to be accepted it had to be based on some national consensus
on the substance of educational reform.
Given this prevailing vie~point within the Ministry and, as was to
be discovered later, within Government as a whole, it required no
persuasion to convince all concerned of the need to launch a national
dialogue on education. Indeed, the Ministry felt that to focus the
dialogue only on the primary curriculum would be too restrictive both
to the people and to the Ministry itself. Consequently, two committees
one dealing with policy and the other with primary curriculum - were
merged and jointly charged with the responsibility of setting the
National Dialogue in motion. As conceived, the Dialogue would entail
country-wide discussions with the people with .the objective of
discovering what the people believed should form the basic tenets upon
which to base Lesotho's educational system and the machinery or
strategies for its operation.
Besides following the course of the curriculum development process
up to the launching of the National Dialogue, this report reviews the
procedures used in conducting the Dialogue itself. The chief traditional
-4_
method of assessing public opinion at the grass-roots or village level
in Lesotho is through the system of Lipitso (public and open meetings)
which is as old as the Sotho nation itself. The Lipitso (pronounced
dip'its'o) were in this case to be supplemented by other channels of
communication such as newspapers, panel discussions on radio,
questionnaires and meetings with various groups of educators on the one
hand, and national, regional or local administrative, religious,
business and developmental groups on the other.
Overviews of public opinions collected at Lipitso and through
questionnaires form an important part of this report. The opinions
themselves cover a wide spectrum of topics in education, such
as language policy in schools, objectives and content of curricula,
community participation in education, financial and administrative
bases of education, teacher training and professionalism, as well as
procedures or methods of assessment, evaluation and promotion of
pupils from grade to grade and from one cycle of education to another.
Contrary to expectations, the people were not only vocal in their
expression of opinion but they seemed to have taken time to consider
their vie~~,and to have measured the likely effects of a number of
alternatives that they saw open to those responsible for decision-making
in education. They clearly demonstrated that they had learnt that all
was not well with copying foreign systems in their raw form, no matter
how impressive or glittering such systems might have appeared. Parents
wanted the educational system, inter alia, to build a Sotho nation with
its own unique identity and typical way of life. They demanded that
maximum benefit be derived from whatever national or individual
-5-
investments were made in education. In particular, they demanded a
synchronised system of education, co-ordinating the formal with the
non-formal programmes and providing education from the cradle to the
grave.
The National Dialogue on Education constitutes a significant
milestone in the curriculum development process in Lesotho during the
period under review. Hence this report devotes considerable space to
detailing the criteria and procedures used in organizing the Lipitso
and the National Seminar with which the Dialogue culminated. It is
hoped that this exposition will facilitate assessment not only of the
outcomes of the National Dialogue but also of the procedures followed
by those who organized that historic episode.
The final chapters of the report, viz. six and seven are, as
noted earlier, evaluative and interpretive. Not only are some
significant aspects of the curriculum development process as traced in
the previous chapters analysed but the context of curriculum change as
well as some political, economic and pedagogical factors influencing
curriculum design and implementation are high-lighted. In particular,
the crucial role of teachers at all stages of curriculum development is
emphasized. It is, of course, also appreciated that these added
responsibilities on the part of teachers imply and assume improved
levels of education and professional training, sensitivity and integrity
for teachers as well as other supportive cadres.
Chapter seven, viz. Conclusion offers a number of suggestions
relating to the educational system as a whole. In particular, the
urgent need for an explicitly defined philosophy of life, education and
-6-
development is stressed for a young and emergent African state like
Lesotho. The view adopted in this regard is that conventional wisdom
or intuition is not enough as the sole basis for a national education
system. A strong case is further made for the need to consider the
notion or framework of a basic education of flexible duration which is
free and compulsory for every child in the country.
-7
CHAPTER II
Why Curriculum Reform?
2.1 A Legacy of Organizational Structures
The pattern of educational development, particularly the history
of the organizational structures which facilitated the provision of
education in Lesotho, coincides with the history of the establishment
of christian churches in the country, beginning with the Paris
Evangelical Missionary Society (PEMS) in 1833. At that time a
meaningful partnership between the people, the government of the day,
and the churches was not possible. For a meaningful partnership can
exist only when and where all the parties are fully committed to one
common course. In this case the people, because they knew little or
nothing about Western formal education, could not but playa passive
role.
The colonial government, on the other hand, knew that it had to
playa more active role in the provision of education. Consequently,
it established a few government-controlled primary schools and
initiated a grant-in-aid scheme to meet the churches part of the way in
running their educational institutions. This situation had changed
very little, if at all, at the time of independence in 1966. A
glaringly conspicuous feature of the organizational structures in force
then was the absence of the people's voicein the process of providing
education. In the meantime, however, the public at large had become
increasingly conscious of their rights generally, and more specifically
of the need to participate actively in matters pertaining to the
education of their children.
-3-
More than ten years after Lesotho's independence, church influence
is still a factor to reckon with, perhaps for some time to come a
factual sine qua non, in the country's educational system. This
becomes clear if and when one bears in mind the amazing fact that
literally all primary and almost all secondary or high schools are
owned and run by the churches (the government-controlled primary schools
having been phased out after independence!). Judging by the differences
in policies, standards, patterns and quality of control practised by the
three main agencies, viz. the Lesotho Evangelical Church (LEC), the
Roman Catholic Church (RCC), and the Anglican Church of Lesotho (ACL),
one might as well talk in terms of three educational systems, each
with its own organizational structure.
Despite the rather disconcerting situation just described, it has
to be stated in no uncertain terms that the keenness of the missionary
groups to set up schools in all parts of the country has sine dubio
given Lesotho a headstart in education; that it has contributed
abundantly to the general readiness of the people for development work.
Having said that, one must hasten to add that however adequate this
system of education, together with its organizational structures, might
have been for missionary and colonial purposes, it has been found
grossly lacking in the development of certain skills and attitudes
consonant with the needs and obligations of an independent and self
governing people.
-9-
2.2 Financial and Material Resources
Schools in Lesotho were, and for the most part still are, poor and
ill-equipped. The Ministry of Education figures on the seating provision
in 1975 indicate that 90,000 children (40.9% of the primary enrolment)
attended school sitting on the floor. The Primary Research Unit
observes in the report of its sample survey of primary schools (1975)
that:
IIIn most schools there was furniture for only the upperclasses. Long rigid desks for five children (each) werecommon in these; however, only 16% of the schools hadany furniture at all in standards 1 and 211
•
The situation was more complex than might appear at a glance. For one
thing, if the kind of desks mentioned above, or any type for that
matter, were provided there would certainly not be enough room for all
the children! The problem, therefore, called for more radical and
widely embracing curriculum reform over and above simply exploring
avenues for bilateral and charitable aid or urging the design and
dissemination of blueprints for cheap, functional and easily constructed
furniture.
Closely linked to problems of furniture and equipment was that of
storage. In many classes no storage facilities existed; in others they
were inadequate, being limited in most cases to one cupboard which,
more often than not, would be crammed full of antique and inappropriate
books -- an ill-advised gift from a foreign aid programme. Provision
of minimum storage facilities had, therefore, to form an integral part
of any meaningful curriculum reform in those circumstances.
-10-
Of even more concern, howeveGwas the situation in regard to
school equipment and textbooks. All primary schools charged some form
of school fee varying from 50c to over M2.00 (Ml.OO being approximately
equal to $1.50). In most cases, though, the fees were spent on
maintenance of buildings, on cooks' pay (there was a mid-day meal which
was heavily subsidized by the Save the Children Fund), and on contigency
funds, leaving little or nothing for teaching and sports equipment.
The situation regarding prescribed textbooks was no better.
Parents bought books and exercise books as per lists issued by
individual headteachers (though Catholic schools had a common list).
The price of books varied, often unwarrantably high in remote areas
particularly where the books were not sold by mission bookstores. But
few parents bought all the books recommended, and still fewer bought
them all at once. Moreover, parents were far more likely to buy books
for higher classes than lower ones. Thus a situation frequently
occurred whereby a child had books 5 or 6 of an English or Mathematics
course without ever having had the use of books 1,2,3 or 4. Predictably,
many such children would be totally at sea with the books in front of
them in class. A crisis situation obviously existed in regard to these
matters and, not surprisingly, demands were being made for a workable
policy towards the provision of common minimum equipment essential for
schools. Rational curriculum development, teaching and learning could
not be expected to take place under such conditions.
2.3 Wastage in the Educational System
The term 'wastage' implies a value judgement of certain operations
of an educational system and there may be some who disagree that total
-11-
loss can be ascribed to the years a drop-out spent in school or to
repeating a grade. In terms of implicit educational intention evident
in the organization of educational cycles and in the setting of
educational goals, the system in Lesotho during the reform period was
characterized by two types of wastage. The first of these was the
instance of the drop-out. With education neither free nor compulsory,
the primary cycle (at times the very first years of that cycle) was
terminal for most children, leaving only 14% of the pupils to proceed
to the secondary level (Matekane 1978, p.2).
According to the statistician in the Ministry of Education, the
rate and pattern of drop-out was generally as depicted in the following
table:
GRADE
1234567
. DROP-OUT PER 100
14.86.4
12.710.215.716.118.9
CUMULATIVE
14.821.233.944.159.875.994.8
As these figures indicate, 33.9% (14.8 + 6.4 + 12.7) of the enrolment
dropped out before they reached what is generally regarded as the
threshold of literacy. A contributing factor that has to be borne in
mind in interpreting the drop-out phenomenon in Lesotho, however, is
that in some areas of the country, especially in the mountain regions,
some primary schools did not go beyond Grade 3 and distance could
prevent pupils from continuing the cycle in other schools.
The second type or component of wastage in the educational system
was repetition of grades by the pupils who failed the end-of-the year
-12-
examinations. Despite the official introduction of the policy of auto
matic promotion early in the 1970's, reports from heads of schools
indicated that in 1977 14.5% of available places in primary schools were
taken up by repeaters. A point to remember here is that some of the
pupils who repeated~ especially at the grade 7 level, did so not because
they had failed the examination, but to improve their passing class in
the primary leaving examinations to gain admission into the very
competitive secondary level.
In view of these conditions the educational system was under fire
for being elitist in that it was oriented more towards higher levels
of education which were beyond the reach of the majority of the
children. Those who dropped-out or for some other reason could not
proceed into the secondary cycle had two main handicaps: they were
in most cases too young (at 13 or 14 years of age) to be employed in
any meaningful way; secondly, they were not equipped with any functional
skills for life in the country. Demands were therefore being made for
a curriculumwhith~ among other things, defined specific levels of
mastery that could be attained along the way so that children who left
school early could have proven attainment in functional literacy in
Sesotho, in numeracy and in some practical skills.
2.4 Examinations and Curriculum Content
One of the major criticisms of the system of education in Lesotho
during the period of interest was that the system was examinations
dominated. Too much content was expected to be covered by all pupils
in time for the final examination; very often teacher and children were
-13-
in such a hurry to cover ground that they neglected the processes which
were really important in education; the syllabuses were too rigid, with
no indications of priorities and no allowance for alternatives or local
variations.
The examinations served as effective barriers which the child had
to cross or overcome to survive in the system; the pupil moved up the
educational ladder only in so far as his or her intellectual performance
-- or rather the evaluation made of it -- and his/her social, economic
and cultural background permitted. Thus the main products of the system
were "failures" (those who had been forced out of the system) and
"passes" (those who could regurgitate undigested doses of content or
facts on the examination day to the satisfaction of the examiner).
In an attempt to grapple with the problem of exaMinations the
government introduced the policy of automatic promotion in schools.
According to that policy formal examinations were abolished except for
the primary leaving examination at the end of Grade 7, the Junior
Certificate (J.C.) examination at the end of Grade la, and the Cambridge
Overseas School Certificate (COSC) examination at the end of Grade 12.
All three examinations were external, the primary leaving examination
being set by the Ministry of Education, the JC examination by the
Examination Council of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, and the COSC by
the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. As can be
expected, those staggered examinations were not themselves immune from
the same severe criticism that had been leveled against yearly
examinations.
-14-
As regards the curriculum content itself, a popular criticism was
that the educational system, though allegedly designed for an African
setting, was not conducive to the promotion of a typically Sotho
consciousness; that it was independent of, and irrelevant to, the
context in which it operated, thereby giving the image of lI an alien
thing, torn from a European environment and set down in a society to
which it was unrelated ..... (that it was) divorced from the local and
national communities and failing to prepare the school child for life
within them 'l (Thompson 1968, p. 15). To support this view, critics
pointed out that much content of the syllabuses and textbooks for
History, Geography and English were foreign to the environment, interests
and needs of the children; that there was little relationship and
coherence not only between the subjects taught but also between what
the children learned in school and the other learning to which they
were exposed outside the school.
The foreign language demands of the primary programme in particular
were unrealistic. Few children could read the English in their
prescribed English books and fewer still the English in the Mathematics
and Science books. As a result, a dangerous sort of pseudo-literacy was
encouraged. Moreover, children were frequently asked to learn reading
in a foreign language before they were proficient in the skill in their
own language, with the sad result that they frequently mastered reading
in neither.
Taking their cue from Nyerere's insightful, and then often-quoted
IEducation for Self-Reliance ' (1967), those who demanded curriculum
reform further indicted· the educational system in Lesotho for failing
-15-
to inculate true ideals of citizenship and service to a society "in
which progress is measured in terms of human well-being, not prestige
buildings, cars or other such things, whether privately or publicly
owned" (Nyerere 1967a, p. 7). In this regard the system was chastised
specifically for betraying the parents who had invested in the education
of their children; for the more educated the children became, the less
likely were they to return to the village to work, set examples and
generally contribute to the well-being of their parents and villages.
Instead, the educated children went to work and live in the urban areas
where they had more chances of employment in the clerical jobs for
which their education had, ironically, suited them.
Much of the criticism against the educational system in force at
independence in Lesotho found wide publicity in the media. 'LANTA Echoes',
a short-lived but seeringly critical mouthpiece of the then active
Lesotho African Native Teachers' Association, offered particularly
informed opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of the educational
system. Because of its heavy emphasis on mastery learning, the system
was accused of being too bookish, of encouraging a white-collar-job
mentality and a contempt for manual labour. Justification for such
criticism was easily adduced from the low priority accorded manual
labour which was often used as a form of punishment -- and from the
manner in which cultural, creative as well as practical activities were
undervalued and treated as frills in the system.
All in all, the criticisms of the educational system and its
curricula cited above pointed to a mismatch or incongruity between
school and society in Lesotho, and that mismatch had been inherited
-16-
holus-bolus at independence. Proponents of change were therefore
calling for a re-appraisal, in effect a revolution, in the educational
system to bring it in line with post-independence developments in the
country; they were urging that education should decolonise itself, be
relevant and responsive to the needs, challenges and aspirations of an
independent, sovereign and rapidly developing Lesotho.
With the passage of time, and as the optimism and lofty expectations
aroused by independence sobered, it became clear that a crippling
weakness of the educational system in force then was the lack of a
comprehensive policy base and overall direction. As a result of that
basic shortcoming, whatever changes had been made tended to be of an
ad hoc nature and were often indifferent to other actions or factors
elsewhere in the country. It was mainly the realization of that state
of affairs that led to the launching of the National Dialogue on
Education.
-17-
CHAPTER II I
The First Phase of Curriculum Development
3.1 The 1967 Primary Syllabus and Experimentation
After 1967 the impetus for curriculum change gained momentum and
intensity as concerted efforts were made to tackle the ills afflicting
the educational system (see Chapter II above), and also because the
primary syllabus introduced in that year laid a firm and better defined
foundation. The Ministry of Education, in loco parentis, had decided to
design a long-term educational plan which would involve the government,
the people at the grass-roots level, and the voluntary agencies interested
in education. This realization of the importance of involving all
stakeholders at the planning stages of curriculum development marked a
radical departure from past practice, particularly to the extent that
it gave due recognition to the role of the parents.
In actual practice, however, only the educators were involved in
the revision of the previous syllabus. The Ministry of Education had
invited criticism and contributions from the following bodies only:
the newly established and government-sponsored National Association of
Lesotho Teachers (NALT) in which both primary and secondary school
teachers were to be represented; the teacher training colleges (there
were seven of these at the time, all owned by the churches); the School
of Education at the then University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland
(UBLS); and the inspectorate. The implementation of the new syllabus
was in turn to be undertaken jointly by all these groups of educators.
At the district level the dissemination of curriculum materials
and the orientation of the teachers to the new syllabus was channeled
-18-
through the four educational and adminstrative circuits:
1. Northern Circuit: Butha-Buthe, Leribe* and Berea
2. Eastern Circuit: Qacha's Nek* and Mokhotlong
3. Central Circuit: Maseru*
4. Southern Circuit: Mafeteng, Mohale's Hoek* and Quthing
The starred districts above formed the headquarters for their respective
circuits and had an education officer assigned to each of them to
co-ordinate the work of the School of Education personnel, the inspectors
and the teacher trainers operating in the circuit.
The overriding perspective and focus of the 1967 primary syllabus
was intended to give children appropriate education with the following
underlying objectives or guiding principles:
a) literacy in Sesotho;
b) basic knowledge of English;
c) elementary numeracy;
d) basic but comprehensive introduction to the history, geography,
cultural values and workings of their society;
e) acquisition of the practical skills necessary for earning a
living in the country.
At the same time a UNESCO planning mission had been engaged to
produce a comprehensive and fairly detailed plan for inclusion in the
first overall economic and social five-year development plan for the
country. Some of the recommendations submitted by that UNESCO commission
were implemented concurrently with the 1967 primary school syllabus.
Perhaps it should be noted here that the 1967 primary syllabus has
remained in force to date, and that it has never been evaluated.
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3.2 The Curriculum Unit: an Embryo
In due course the Ministry of Education decided that there was
urgent need for establishing a curriculum unit which would form the hub
of all curriculum debate and activity in the country. At the same time
a team of tutors from the constituent colleges of the University of
Durham Institute of Education were invited to Lesotho through the
British Ministry of Overseas Development. Their assignment was to
undertake the implementation of the 1967 primary syllabus by preparing
the teachers through inservice teacher education and training (INSET).
British assistance in the INSET· program continued for a period of
nine years altogether (1968-76). However, as the Lesotho requests for
such help gradually changed in the face of emerging needs over that
period, the nature and type of the courses was continually being adapted
to meet the local requirements. The pattern of change in focus or
emphasis could, at the risk of simplification, be high-lighted or
outlined as follows:
1. Upgrading courses for unqualified primary teachers (1966-73).
2. Headteachers· orientation courses (1968-71).
3. The Experimental Schools Project (1971): this scheme was
intended specifically to implement a policy of developing a number of
strategically situated schools as 'models' or pace-setters and curriculum
reform centres. Initially 40 schools were identified for this project,
but only 12 were eventually chosen for participation.
The twelve schools carried out a co-ordinated experiment in
'child-centred· education. What particularly distinguished the project
from earlier ones was the realization that curriculum change ought to
-20-
involve the whole school and its organization. Appreciation of that
fact led to whole staffs, and not just individual teachers, of the
participating schools being regarded as the proper unit or nucleus for
training and education in the new methods.
4. The introduction, in 1975, of the idea of teacher-training in
what were to become IIteacher centres ll, with an increasing emphasis on
local leadership while the Durham tutors acted only in an advisory
capacity. The centres were established in Hlotse for the Northern
circuit, Maseru for the Central and Eastern circuits, and Mohale's Hoek
for the Southern circuit. They were to be organized by three inspectors
designated by the Ministry and who would work under the supervision of
the Co-ordinator of the Experimental schools.
5. The Curriculum Materials Production Workshop: this 1976
workshop was organized at the special request of the Ministry, and the
materials produced were subsequently tried out in a number of primary
schools. They were revised and further developed by the Primary
Curriculum Research Unit under the supervision of a British Overseas
Development Administration (aDA) adviser who had been assigned to
Lesotho since 1974. It was this exercise, together with the appraisal
survey of 37 primary schools, that led to the invitation of Hugh-Hawes
to advise the Ministry on a systematic development of the school
curriculum for Lesotho.
3.3 The Primary Curriculum Panel and Subject Panels.
The Primary Curriculum Panel was formed in 1974 and assigned the
task of initiating the curriculum development process. Despite their
-21-
vague terms of reference and though they did not meet regularly until
towards the end of the year, the members of the panel did write papers
and issue a comprehensive development plan. As part of a needs
assessment exercise, in 1975 the panel carried out a survey of schools,
investigating basic facilities, observing teaching and collecting teachers·
views on curriculum development. A full report with a number of
recommendations resulted from this survey, and for some time thereafter
formed the basis for much curriculum study and discussion.
As a result of the panel's recommendation, a number of subject
panels were established and began working late in 1975. However, the
line of demarcation between the duties of the Primary Curriculum Panel
and those of the subject panels was very thin and often blurred.
Ideally, the Primary Curriculum Panel had an advisory function on
curriculum development in general, while the subject panels were
engaged specifically to define objectives and develop syllabus guidelines
for their respective school subjects. The subject panels were constituted
according to the following categories:
1. English 5. Practical Activities
2. MathsjScience 6.. Cultural Activities
3. Sesotho 7. Environmental Studies
4. Social Studies
Shortly after their establishment, the subject panels augmented the
Curriculum Unit and together formed a larger nucleus for curriculum
development. One of their first contributions was a major trial
package for the Grade 7 level. The materials in the package consisted
of both teachers· guides and pupils· textbooks. They were tried out
-22-
in four different schools with five teachers and two hundred and thirty
pupils altogether. The main objectives of the trial package were to:
a) give members of the Curriculum Unit experience in writing
curriculum materials and working closely with teachers in
the process;
b) assess the practicability of an integrated and environment
based approach in fairly typical school situations.
In an effort to achieve these objectives a series of workshops were
organized for the group beginning early in 1976. The workshops
concentrated mainly on the production of teaching and learning materials,
and the teachers who participated in them took back revised materials
to tryout in their classrooms. The other members of the Unit who were
not themselves involved in teaching subsequently engaged in follow-up
visits to the schools where the materials were being 'hot-housed'.
The Curriculum Unit also made an analysis of the primary leaving
examinations questions. The main finding or criticism here was that
in Social Studies and Science particularly there was still considerable
emphasis on the knowledge of technical terminology, and on the rote
learning of a large body of specific but unrelated facts without any
attempt to indicate their significance or relevance to current life
situations of the pupils. That finding brought home to the members of
the Curriculum Unit the legitimacy of their second objective, i.e. the
intent to develop an integrated and environment-based approach to the
production of curriculum materials.
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3.4 The Primary Research and Development Unit
As a result of its strong bias in favour of research, the
Curriculum Unit soon evolved into a new body designated as the Primary
Curriculum Research Unit. Its functions were reformulated and redefined
into the following:
1. "Research and implement work in curri cul urn development.
2. Review and revise syllabuses.
3. Design new syllabuses as appropriate.
4. Produce teaching materials for use in the implementation
of new syllabuses and in co-operation with appropriate
subject experts.
5. Evaluate and validate new materials using the experimental
schools as hothouses.
6. Introduce new curriculum materials into schools" (Minutes of
Curriculum Unit Meeting of 30th June, 1976).
The effectiveness of the Primary Curriculum Research Unit was,
however, frustrated by frequent staff turnover: expatriate staff left,
and the local practicing teachers were not enthused or enticed because
they derived no financial benefit or any other recognition for their
services in that committee.
When it finally reconstituted, the Primary Curriculum Research
Unit had metamorphosized into the National Curriculum Development Centre,
with a new scope of responsibility embracing all levels of school
curricula. Plans were immediately set afoot to give this new body a
physical presence in the form of a large administration building. The
significance of the establishment of this new arm of the Ministry of
-24-
Education, and on such a serious and large-scale basis, for the curriculum
development process in Lesotho cannot be over-emphasized.
The National Curricul~m Development Centre was established before
a clear, well-funded and long-term policy had been established, and there
was an acute shortage of qualified local manpower to staff it. It can,
however, be said that the establishment of the Centre marked the end of
the era of haphazard experimentation that had characterized curriculum
development up to that point. Due weight and legitimacy was soon added
to that significant step when in October 1976 the Project Identification
Mission (A Lesotho/Unicef Joint Evaluation Mission) designated
curriculum development as the first priority for the Ministry of
Education. The Project Identification Mission itself had been
established specifically to identify and place into priority projects
in order to avoid duplication of effort and to facilitate procedures
for seeking and procuring much needed international or foreign aid.
About the middle of 1976 the Lesotho Government submitted a
project proposal to UNICEF for the funding of the first five years of
the National Curriculum Development Centre. The proposal was well
received and indication of probable support immediately given. According
to the proposal and initial agreement thereto, UNICEF would finance the
cost of materials, equipment, transport and the running of courses,
workshops and conferences; while the World Bank would fund the
construction of a composite building for the National Curriculum
Development Centre.
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3.5 The Curriculum Committee
As already pointed out (see 3.4 above) in 1976 the Ministry of
Education had received UNICEF's support to obtain the services of a
consultant to help in the drawing up of a detailed plan for the UNICEF
assistance in primary school curriculum development. For three weeks in
March of 1977 Hugh Hawes, assisted by officers of the Ministry, collected
and collated information to produce his report. The Hawes report,
titled Primary School Curriculum Change in Lesotho -- UNICEF's Commitment
in Context, was submitted to the Ministry in April 1977.
In response to that report the Ministry set up another committee,
later called the Curriculum Committee, to:
i) examine and advise on the operational plan for the UNICEF
funded primary curriculum development project in the light
of the Hawes report;
ii) prepare the way for a major national forum on the purposes
and content of education in the country.
The Curriculum Committee was to be a high-powered committee, and its
membership was made up of the following persons:
Permanent Secretary for Education - O. Seheri (Chairman)
Education Planner - J. P. Lebona
Central Planning and Development Office representative
G. Rockcliffe -- King.
Principal Education Officer - S. Baholo
Institute of Education, National University of Lesotho
T. S. Thelejane
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National Teacher Training College representative - S. Molokeng
(later replaced by Ms. M. Maloba).
Parents' representative - D. Mphuthi (Mrs)
Curriculum Centre, Ministry of Education:
i) Curriculum Adviser - S. Vivian (Secretary)
ii) Director of Curriculum Centre - C. M. Bohloko
iii) Member of Curriculum Unit - E. Moima (took over as
secretary after Stan Vivian's departure)
President, Association of Secondary Schools' Headmasters and
!leadtlistresses - H. M. Buku (Co-Chairman)
At its inaugural meeting, held in the Board room of the Ministry
of Education on April 25, 1977, the Committee considered its Terms
of Reference and decided as follows:
1) that the National Conference/seminar should concern itself
with both primary and secondary levels of education;
2) that through a series of weekly meetings, the Committee should
proceed to a thorough study of the UNICEF project proposal document
and the Hawes report.
In July 1977, the Committee produced a report of its study of
the two documents. It strongly supported Hawes' recommendation that
a seminar be held in October of that year to get the opinions of
Basotho on the system of education, the nature of improvements,
innovations and adaptations they wished the system to incorporate,
integrate and reflect.
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CHAPTER IV
Preparing for the National Dialogue and Seminar
4.1 Briefing Sessions
In view of the sensitive nature and history of the development of
educational facilities in Lesotho, the Curriculum Committee decided to
invite certain key stakeholders for special briefing sessions. The
purpose of the sessions was to explain the nature, objectives, scope and
modi operandi of the National Dialogue. The groups of people and agencies
invited for that kind of briefing are outlined below.
1. Educational Secretaries: each of the three main churches
and proprietors of schools (see 2.1 above) has an Educational Secretary
responsible for all its schools. This individual acts as a liaison
officer between the church and the government on educational matters.
At the meeting with this group the Permanent Secretary for Education
_ made it unequivocally clear that ownership of schools was not an issue
within the scope o'r terms of reference of the Dialogue project as
envisaged. That particular clarification was deemed essential in order
to allay the fears of the churches who were, and continue to be, prone
to regard any major innovations in education as surreptitious attempts
by the government to take over the schools.
2. Managers of Schools: this group was invited at the special
request of the Educational Secretaries. Most managers of schools in
Lesotho are clergy in charge of the missions of the various churches.
As clergy, they are held in high esteem and reverence by the people;
they wield considerable influence among the general public. Consequently,
-28-
their confidence and support for the anticipated National Dialogue had
to be won; otherwise the success of the project would be in jeopardy.
3. The Association of Secondary Schools' Principals: after the
first Minister of Education unscrupulously dealt a blow to the once
powerful and progressive teachers' organizations, this association
became the only active and credible teachers' voice in the country.
The raison d'etre for briefing them was that they should carry word
back to their respective schools, thus ensuring input and co-operation
from teachers in the all important process of the National Dialogue.
Because of their leadership role in the community teachers could be
instrumental in disseminating information and spearheading discussion
on the salient features of education in the country. In the past their
services had been depended upon for such important national business
as the census and general elections.
4. Education Officers and School Inspectors: these officers
were expected not only to take part in organizing Lipitso but also, as
representatives of the Ministry in their circuits, to be adequately
informed about all the facets of the educational dialogue; they were to
assist by all means at their disposal to ensure the success of the
project. For instance, it was expected that some people would turn in
completed questionnaires at the nearest Education Office; and that it
would be important for the officers to handle and forward such documents
expeditiously.
5. District Development Committees; this group would be
entrusted with the crucial task or responsibility of convening Lipitso.
-29-
They were deemed the appropriate administrative vehicle to use for that
purpose in view of their composition, which was made up of the following
members:
District Administrator (Chairman);
Community Development Officer (Secretary);
Principal and Ward Chiefs;
District Heads of Departments; and
Electoral Constituency Representatives.
4.2 Publicity
The Curriculum Committee decided that it would be proper for the
Permanent Secretary, as the top executive officer in the Ministry of
Education, to usher in the Dialogue on Education with a statement over
Radio Lesotho, the national radio station, and a press release (see
Appendix A for the full text of the latter). In both statements, to
which the Curriculum Committee contributed substantially, the Permanent
Secretary conceded that the education system in Lesotho was inadequate;
that for the situation to improve it was essential that
lI all the Basotho, including all the purchasers and usesof the products of the Lesotho education system, be giventhe opportunity to express their views, needs, aspirations
'.and expectations ll (Seheri 1977, p. 1)
concerning what type of education system they wanted and expected for
the maximum benefit of their children and the country as a whole.
The main thrust of the two statements was to alert the people to
the ways in which the National Dialogue on Education would be conducted,
and to urge them to participate by attending 1ipitso to voice their
opinions; by writing their comments, criticisms and suggestions to
-30-
the national newspapers or directly to the Curriculum Committee; and by
responding to the questionnaires they would be receiving in due course.
The Permanent Secretary reiterated the concern of the Government and
people of Lesotho since independence, i.e. lito improve both the efficiency
and the effectiveness of Lesotho Education system so that it may be
better prepared to fulfill the vital task set for it" (Seheri 1977, p. 2).
An important section of the Permanent Secretary's press release
described sources from which ideas for educational aims and objectives
should be derived. He suggested that one of such sources was the
analysis of the particular culture and society which the educational
programme served: what its problems, needs arid requirements were, and
therefore what it demanded of individuals living in it. The analysis
of society, he argued, should lead to the consideration of the
competencies and qualities necessary to sustain a culture and to survive
in it.
Both the radio broadcast and the press release gave prominence to
the role of the Seminar that would form the climax of the National
Dialogue project. That seminar was envisaged as a forum in which a
representative body of Basotho from all social, political and adminstrative
levels would review the opinions expressed by the people. It was hoped
that the participants at the seminar would reach some consensus on what
the nation wanted for its schools. Such an agreement would then be
submitted to the "curriculum developers" for use as a frame of reference
for the reformulation and redefinition of the national education system
and its curricula.
-31-
As part of the publicity process, the proprietors of various
newspapers in the country were requested, and they readily accepted, to
give the press release wide and repeated publicity in both official
languages, and to provide special columns for the Dialogue on Education.
A series of panel discussions and interviews with various people were
scheduled on different aspects of education; special radio programmes
were mounted to explain the need for a relevant national education
system and to whet the people's interest in the issues and factors
involved in designing such a system for Lesotho.
4.3 Lipitso
With the blessing of the government, 'Operation Lipitso' began in
October 1977 and carried through to the second week' in March 1978. The
meetings were mapped out by the District Development Committees
piloting the National Dialogue project. A total of fifty-one public and
open meetings were held at central and easily accessible venues according
to the following roster:
seven meetings in each of Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Maseru and
Mafeteng districts;
five in each of the districts of Berea, Mohale's Hoek and
Quthing; and
four each in the mountainous districts of Mokhotlong and
Vacha's Nek.
In an attempt to ensure validation and credibility of results, a
concerted effort was made to adhere strictly to a uniform procedure at
all the meetings. The District Adminstrator, by virtue of his position
-32-
as the representative of the government, and the Senio~ Education Officer
in his capacity as the Ministry's top man-on-the-spot in the district,
chaired the meetings alternately. The discussion provost itself was
organized so that a member of the Curriculum Committee initiated the
discussion with an explanation of the purpose and objective of the
National Dialogue, raising some issues the participants might wish to
address, detailing the format of the questionnaire, generally provoking
ideas and challenging the audience.
Each pitso had two rapporteurs: a member of the Curriculum
Committee and an Education Officer who, apart from being well-versed
in the objectives and workings of the National Dialogue, was regarded
as having his pulse in harmony with the local people. The various
opinions, statements, observations, criticisms and suggestions were
recorded on the spot and later transcribed systematically under identified
headings. The final item on the agenda was always the distribution of
the questionnaires to those present and also for their relatives and
friends who had not been able to attend.
4.4 Papers for the Seminar
The seminar had been rescheduled for May 15th-17th 1978, which
allowed only two months after the completion of ·Operation Lipitso'. It
was proposed that stimulating discussion papers, based largely on the
opinions collected at Lipitso, and through questionnaires had to be
produced for the seminar.
The first paper, titled An Overview of the Opinions Arising from
Lipitso - A Very Brief Summary and produced by Charles M. Bohloko, was
-33-
a synthesis of the reports compiled by the rapporteurs during Lipitso.
The second paper, similarly titled An Overview of Salient Opinions
Expressed by Some Basotho When Answering Questionnaires and edited by
Wellington M. Buku, was the result of a three-tiered process. First,
some members of the Primary Curriculum Unit were engaged to make an
exhaustive list of the answers in the questionnaires. Secondly, the
services of some students from the National University of Lesotho were
enlisted to classify and slot the answers under a number of identified
headings. The third stage, carried out by the Research and Evaluation
Unit of the Lesotho Distance Teaching Centre, involved the sorting out
of the questionnaires district by district to determine the number of
questionnaires returned per district.
In addition to the papers that dealt with opinions from the general
public, it was decided that a major paper which contextually analysed
the existing education system in Lesotho would be informative and
helpful to those attending the seminar. Odilon M. Seheri, then
Permanent Secretary for Education, was entrusted with its production.
4.5 Consultancy
The Curriculum Committee decided that the National Dialogue would
be enhanced by the attendance and active participation of consultants
from other independent African countries. It was argued that, rather
than for Lesotho to attempt to reinvent the wheel, it would save time,
effort and money to look at what models had been developed and tried
out in other countries with conditions similar to those of Lesotho;
to adapt and integrate suitable aspects of those models to Lesotho's
own peculiar conditions.
-34-
Invitations were extended to a number of select African educators,
and three outstanding scholars accepted to attend the seminar. They
were (i) Dr. Babs Fafunwa, Professor of Education at the University of
Ife, and Director of the Teaching Service Commission in Nigeria; (ii)
Dr. Gilbert P. Olouch, Director of the Kenya Institute of Education; and
(iii) Dr. Barnabas Otaala, Director of the Kenyatta College of Education
in Kenya.
The consultants were expected to share the benefits of their
experience and expertise in their fields of specialization with the
seminar participants; to monitor the progress of the seminar, making
sure that the original objectives of the seminar were not lost during
the deliberations; to present papers on themes pertaining to curriculum
development and any other aspects on which those attending the seminar
might need enlightenment; to advise on ways to ensure that maximum
benefit was derived from the seminar and other aspects of the National
Dialogue.
The choice and availability of those three scholars proved to be more
than fortuitous. The Teaching Service Commission of Nigeria, of which
Babs Fafunwa is director, tallied very well with the newly-founded
Teaching Service Unit (TSU) in Lesotho. Moreover, seminar participants
would benefit from Professor Fafunwa's insightful studies and extensive
experience on the Yoruba Project in the use of the mother tongue as a
medium of instruction in a multi-lingual African context.
The Kenya Institute of Education, under the directorship of
Dr. Olouch, serves as the curriculum development centre in Kenya. It
is a semi-autonomous body functioning under the Ministry of Education,
-35-
and works closely with the University of Nairobi as well as with the
subject panels whose members are drawn predominantly from serving
teachers. Gilbert Olouch's input would therefore be invaluable.
Apart from his position as Director of the Kenyatta College of
Education, the Uganda-born Dr. Otaala heads the Department of Educational
Psychology at Kenyatta University College. He is well-known for his
pioneering studies on concept formation in African children; and his
experience in child development in an African context and in designing
relevant learning experiences for children would be of immense benefit
to the seminar.
4.6 Representation at the Seminar
The guiding principle for determining representation at the seminar
was that delegates should as much as possible reflect a wide cross-
section of public opinion; that they should be mandated by a
comprehensive section of Basotho from all walks of life. The Prime
Minister later emphasized this aspect in his opening remarks at the
seminar in these words:
"It is true that plans in the past have tended to devolveon our technocrats, be they indigenous or foreign, and todisregard testing public opinion ..... Now that we havetried our hand at planned development and achieved somemodicum of succes, it is imperative that the views of thepeople be sought when we construct our plans. ---We hopethat this seminar and the dialogue that preceded it willprovide the opportunity for the people to share theiropinions with us, and to give us good counsel forsuccessful educational planning in Lesotho" (ChiefLeabua Jonathan, 1978, p.3).
Pursuant to the principle of fair and equitable representation of
the various sections of the people of Lesotho and of the international
-36-
and foreign organizations operating in the country, the curriculum
committee drew up the following list (rearranged in alphabetical order
here) of those who would be invited to attend the seminar:
1. British Council2. Cabinet Office3. Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)4. Central Planning and Development Office5. College of Chiefs6. Consultants (see 4.5 above)7. District Administrators8. District Representatives9. Educational Secretaries (see 4.1 above)10. Government Ministries11. Interim National Assembly12. Lerotholi Technical Institute (LTI)13. Lesotho Council of Women14. Lesotho Distance Teaching Centre (see 6.5)15. Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC)16. Managers of Schools (see 4.1 above)17. National Association of Lesotho Teachers (NALT)18. National Manpower Development Secretariat19. National Teacher Training College (see. 6.5 below)20. National University of Lesotho (NUL)21. Police Public Relations Division22. Primary School Teachers (2 from each district)23. Secondary and High Schools' Principals24. Student Representatives (2 each from the NTTC and NUL)25. United Nations Development Program (UNDP)26. United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF)27. United States Information Service (USIS)
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CHAPTER V
The National Seminar on Education
5.1 Logistics
The programme for each day of the seminar was divided into two main
sections (see Appendix B for agenda). The first part, under the joint
chairmanship of Messrs. M.T. Mashologu (Vice Chancellor, N.U.L.) and
O. M. Seheri (Permanet Secretary, Ministry of Education) consisted of
open plenary sessions in which papers on the theme for the seminar, viz.
"What should our children learn?1I were presented. The official
rapporteurs for all plenary sessions were Messrs. L. B. J. Machobane
and B. P. Mosisidi (both full-time Lecturers in the Faculty of Humanities
at N.U.L.). There were eight plenary sessions altogether.
The second part of the day's programme was set aside for group
discussions by seminar participants. Each group was assigned a specific
topic or aspect of the theme which might or might not have been addressed
in the preceding papers. The group discussions were manned by elected
chairmen and a number of official recorders (mostly education officers)
were appointed to each group. At the end of each day the chairmen met
with the consultants, the conference monitors and members of the
Curriculum Committee to review the day's proceedings and to plan for
the next day; the conference rapporteurs also met to compile their
reports for the day.
The language of the seminar was Sesotho and interpreters were
assigned to each of the external consultants. However, all the main
papers were delivered in English, with Sesotho versions available for
-38-
whoever needed- them. The Production Services and Information Unit,
manned by staff of the Ministry, were in charge of the translation,
typing and duplication of all materials for the seminar. The official
opening of the seminar was performed by the Honourable the Prime Minster,
Chief Leabua Jonnthan, on Tuesday 16th May; while the closing speech was
given by Albert S. Mohale, then Minister of Education.
During the closing ceremony a surprise statement supposedly
prepared by the Educational Secretaries was read by Fr. Motanyane of
the Roman Catholic Church. In it the Educational Secretaries disassociated
themselves from the deliberations and any resolutions or recommendations
of the seminar; they alleged that the seminar was a calculated move by
the government to take over the schools from the churches. In his
closing remarks the Minister of Education repudiated those disclaimers,
refuted and dismissed their claims as unfounded and alarmist. He
pointed out that the Educational Secretaries had been consulted in the
special briefing sessions that preceded the National Dialogue; and that
so far nothing had come up to support those allegations.
5.2 Overview of Public Opinions from Lipitso
As stated earlier (see 4.4 above) there were two papers that dealt
with opinions arising from the general public. In his paper on the
opinions collected at Lipitso Charles Sohloko articulated the main
objective of the Education Dialogue in these words:
"In this regard, the Government is among other things seekingdirect mandate from the people on the type, content andorganization of education needed by the nation at this stageof development" (Bohloko 1978, p. 1).
-39-
The opinions themselves varied understandably according to the socio
economic, educational, political and religious backgrounds of the
people who expressed them. Bohloko slotted and discussed those opinions
under the two main headings of (1) Aims and Objectives, and (2) Areas
of concern about the existing system of education.
With respect to the first category above, the aggregation of
public views suggested certain characteristics concerning the school
outcomes which the school system should be seen to pursue. These were
summarised in Bohloko's paper as follows:
1. The ability to communicate in both Sesotho and English at the
end of the pupil's first cycle of education. This competency in the
four skills of communication (listening, speaking, reading and writing),
together with fluency in numeracy or reckoning, was a common emphasis.
2. The agrarian public (subsistence as well as large-scale
farming community) were pressing for a new sort of training and
opportunities for country life that would give youngsters a sense of joy
and possibilities in farming.
3. Business and labour communities were insisting that the school,
in association with other institutions in the community, should under
take the classical function of apprenticeship. In this instance they
were in fact calling attention to the apparent gap between school
'rograms and the world of work, and also to the shortage of places in
secondary schools - the level from which they drew their manpower.
4. Patriots of every stripe were calling for the "sesothonization'
of school programmes. They saw the transmission and preservation of
culture as a function of schools. Yet others in this bracket, conscious
-40-
of the dynamic and effervescent nature of society, saw the transformation
of culture as another function of education. This group also emphasized
the love of country with a sense of involvement in its well being; pride
in and enjoyment of a beautiful country; artistic and cultural heritage.
5. The progressives were proposing that as we live in a world of
rapid change and on the threshold of the 21st century, children should
be taught modern technology so that they may apply it in everyday life
situations for the benefit of all. They called for an intelligent and
rational interaction with the environment, and a profitable use of the
country's natural resources such as wool and mohair, hides and skins,
grass, clay, willow cane, water, minerals, etc.
6. Character-building and discipline~selflessness, respect for
self and others were stressed as some of the 'school outcomes' that
should permeate all teaching in school and out of school. In particular,
the Sotho norms, values, beliefs and principles had to be upheld and
woven into the core curriculum as an integral part of the socialization
programme of schools.
7. Settlement workers and municipal reformers were vigorously
demanding instruction in hygiene, health education, pratical and
household skills, diet and nutrition, child care and rearing. They
emphasized the role of schools in the preparation of children for full
and active participation in life as useful members of the family,
community, nation and as world citizens.
8. Catering for the moral and spiritual needs of children was
stressed by some people as a necessary and legitimate function of the
school.
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The second part of Sohloko's paper, dealing with areas of concern
in the existing educational system, itemized a number of issues about
which the people felt very strongly. The areas of concern included the
following:
Automatic Promotion: whilst opinions on this issue were expressed
emotionally (and perhaps not without cause) tending to cloud otherwise
reasonaole arguments both for and against automatic promotion, it would
nonetheless be true to say that the great majority of the people at
Lipitso were unhappy with this system. They were not only apprehensive
but scathingly critical of the system's supposedly deleterious effects
on what they called 'the standard of education'. Automatic promotion
was associated by these people with the alleged growing illiteracy and
deteriorating fluency in numeracy among school children; it was blamed
for the failure of pupils to make the grade required for admission into
higher levels of education.
Criteria for Participation in Secondary Education: the feeling of
the people was that selection seemed to be based on an urban-oriented
system which favoured urban children and disadvantaged rural ones; that
the system promoted inequalities and differentials in access to
prestigious educational opportunities; and that such differentials were
not determined by a child's abilities but by social factors. That was,
of course, a damaging criticism if it could be proved empirically, for
it would reveal gross inconsistency with the declared national goals.
The common appeal or demand in this case was that access into secondary
education be based on fair and equitable criteria.
-42-
Administration of Schools: despite grave misgivings about the
efficacy of mission schools, consensus of opinion did not favour or
suggest change of ownership of schools. Those who commented on this
aspect observed that the few government schools in existence in the
country had bad results in external examinations and that the discipline
of their students not only left much to be desired but was significantly
worse that that of mission schools.
Some of the more specific points of concern about the administrative
machinery in schools included the following:
a) school committees and boards were only advisory and of little
impact in actual operational terms; in most cases school committee
members were virtually nominated by the manager. Many school boards
were ineffective because their members did not have the knowledge and
interest in the local context of the schools.
b) schools were afflicted by heavy and frequent staff turn-over.
This in turn led to poor and inconsistent teaching and to the prevalence
of unqualified teachers in schools.
c) school fees for secondary education were unjustifiably high,
making that level of education the monopoloy or privilege of the rich
few. Much dissatisfaction was expressed concerning the education levy
and the R20.00 per student payable to the government presumably for
teachers' salaries.
Language Policy: the strong view of the people on this issue was
that Sesotho be the medium of instruction at the primary level, with
English as a compulsory second language; that at the end of primary
education children should be able to communicate effectively in both
Sesotho and English.
-43-
At the secondary level, however, the people argued that these
languages should exchange roles, i.e. English should take over as the
medi,~m of instruction while Sesotho became a compulsory subject. The
rationale for that view was that English was an international language,
the language of higher education, technology and business; while Sesotho
was the national language, the vehicle of the Sotho culture and the
uniting force and symbol of the homogeneity of Basotho as a nation.
Some people expressed the view that Afrikaans, and not French, be
taught as the third language in schools. They argued that most primary
school leavers sought employment in the Republic of South Africa and
that Afrikaans was therefore relevant for their job market; that because
South Africa was Lesotho's only next-door neighbour, effective communication
in that official language of South Africa was essential for everyday
interaction between the two countries.
Those who argued against the introduction of Afrikaans into Lesotho
schools pointed out that Afrikaans, like the languages of other ethnic
groups in South Africa~ was acquired easily on the job; that it was of
less significance and restricted usage than French; and that because it
was the language of oppression and discrimination of the black peoples
of South Africa~ teaching it in Lesotho schools would lend credence and
undeserved sanction to the apartheid policies of South Africa.
5.3 An Overview of Salient Opinions from the Questionnaire
1. Aims and Objectives.
Apart from Lipitso, the second channel through which the people of
Lesotho were invited to express their opinions on the status of education
in the country was by responding to a questionnaire. As already pointed
-44-
out (see 4.4 above) opinions expressed via this channel "Jere compiled
and edited into a paper by Wellington M. Buku. That paper, like the
one on opinions from Lipitso by Charles Bohloko, was later to be read
at the National Seminar. It forms the main source of the information
on this aspect of the National Dialogue project in the curriculum
development process. Not surprisingly, many of the views expressed by
those who responded to the questionnaire coincide with the ones expressed
3t Lipitso (see 5.2 above).
An interesting and revealing section of Buku's paper was the
analysis of lI a random sample of 200 questionnaires ll to determine the
relative support for the suggested aims and objectives. That analysis,
while not empirically validated and absolutely reliable, could at least
be taken as some sort of indicator of the degree or amount of support
respondents gave to each of the areas covered by those aims and
objectives. The figures were given as follows:
Education for self-reliance: 30%Agriculture and other practical subjects: 25%Aesthetics, Civics, attitudes, etc: 22%Language and culture: 10%Religious Education: 4%
It would, however, have been more useful and interesting to have analysed
all the questionnaires, determining first how many were returned, who
responded, and whether respondents gave priority to one or more of those
aims and objectives or simply mentioned them.
On the important question of language policy in schools, the
analysis suggested that 60% of respondents proposed the use of Sesotho
and English from Grade 1 on a formula to be worked out; 35% preferred
only Sesotho as a medium of instruction up to Grade 4, with the
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introduction of English from Grade 5 through 7. A staggering high of
19% suggested the introduction of Afrikaans at both primary and
secondary levels; only 5% were enthusiastic about the teaching of French;
and finally 3% proposed the teaching of other southern African languages
like Tswana, Xhosa and Zulu.
2. Parents/Community Participation: respondents expressed deep
concern that in the past they had not been consulted or involved when
decisions concerning the education of their children were taken; they
chastised the government for continuing with that attitude which had
characterised the colonial era. Some of the ways in which respondents
felt the general public could be involved included the following:
a) Voluntary work: parents and other members of the community
could contribute their know-how in school projects such as gardening to
provide food for pupils and cash for the school; construction of school
furniture and general maintenance of school buildings; they could give
lessons and demonstrations in making handicrafts and in traditional
Sotho dances and music.
b) Parent-Teacher Associations: these were suggested as ways
and means by which the community could get the chance to discuss school
problems with the teachers. Such associations, it was argued, could
provide the bases for joint action by teachers on the one hand and the
community on the other to curb delinquent behaviour by children both in
and out of school.
Another random sample of 200 questionnaires taken to determine the
extent of support or commitment to the suggested ways of involving the
community in school matters revealed that 45% .wished to participate
-46-
in voluntary work; 30% indicated a willingness to give schools in their
vicinity financial help and assistance in fund-raising projects and 8%
felt competent to give advice to the teachers and other school personnel.
3. Administration and Discipline: many respondents castigated
the entire administrative hierarchy in the education system for being
negative and adverse to parental and community participation in educational
matters: some school administrators tended to regard involving parents
as a fruitless exercise and unwarranted interference; some school
principals looked upon school committees as unnecessary; and managers
of schools had too much discretionary power which they often misused to
spite parents.
The professional conduct and general deportment of some teachers
came under strong criticism by the public. It was alleged that, for
instance, some teachers went to school drunk; that they drank liquor
and smoked narcotic drugs with their students; that others had
affectionate intimacies and intrigues with students. There was also
general disapproval of the attire adorned by some teachers; it was
considered professionally unbecoming and unethical. Allegations of
embezzlement of school funds by school managers and principals were
quite common, but were not substantiated.
Respondents went further to suggest some measures to counteract
the deficiencies regarding the administrative machinery: clear definition
of the role of school committees and boards, as well as procedures for
the election or appointment of such boards; appropriate legal action
be taken against all school officials whose behaviour was contrary to
accepted norms and codes; proper books of accounts be kept for each
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school and that public reports be made periodically; that credentials
and professional qualifications of all teachers be checked thoroughly
prior to employment. It was strongly and repeatedly urged that the
Ministry should employ more inspectors to ensure frequent and thorough
inspection of all schools.
4. The Cost of Education: the financial basis for the existing
educational system received much attention in the questionnaires.
Respondents stated that though the Ministry continued to be responsible
for teachers' salaries, the financial burden of sending children to
school was becoming unbearably heavy on parents. School fees were
believed to be unwarrantably high, especially at the secondary level;
and calls were made for government intervention to standardize school
fees throughout the country.
The people generally accepted responsibility for what they termed
'obligatory financial commitments', which included the following
categories of fees:
a) 'school fees'
b) boarding and lodging fees
c) book fees
d) school uniform fees
e) money payable for education trips
In addition to these so-called 'obligatory fees', there was definite
desire by parents to assist by donating in cash and/or in kind to
develop schools. On the whole the people recognised that the churches
and the government had had to seek help outside the country; that it was
time the nation assumed full responsibility for the cost of educating
its children.
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CHAPTER VI
Evaluation and Interpretation
6.1 Educational Context of Curriculum Change
As pointed out in Chapter 2, many factors combined to form a tidal
wave which forced major curriculum revision in post-independence Lesotho.
Basotho had by that time come to entertain a great faith in education as
a panacea for all the ills of society, and as the key to individual and
national development. Like other modern nations the world over, they
IIhave assumed that educati on ha.s the power to reduce poverty and di stress,
to prevent child delinquency and crime, and to promote the well-being of
the individual, the intelligent use of suffrage, and the welfare and
stability of the state" (Taba, 1962, p. 16).
Despite high parental aspirations and the resulting increase in
primary school enrolments, pupils and teachers in Lesotho work under
exceptionally difficult conditions "among the most difficult anywhere
in African ll accordfng to the Hawes report of 1977. Officially the
minimum entry age into the seven-year primary cycle is six years and the
maximum nine years. In actual practice, however, many older and an
increasing number of younger children are enrolled (Hawes Report 1977).
Primary education is neither free nor compulsory, yet the vast majority
of Basotho parents make every effort to send children to school.
According to the National Development Plan (1977), enrolments in 1975
stood at 221,932; that trend was expected to continue and the excess
to increase to 17% by 1979.
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The average pupil-teacher ratio of 53.8/1 (the highest in English
speaking Africa according to the 1977 Hawes report) conceals more than
it reveals. Mountain schools are small and ratios low and thus bring
down the average. Moreover, it is the rule rather than the exception
for two classes to share one classroom. The 1975 statistics indicate
4683 primary school classes occupying 2840 classrooms. Once-overcrowding
of this severity is present, the teaching methods and hence curriculum
design have to be adapted to it. It borders on the irresponsible to
recommend activity methods which require space for the children and
individual attention from the teacher in such conditions.
The view taken in this report is that these conditions can be
alleviated by innovative thinking and hard work (and there is no shortage
of these qualities in Lesotho); but they cannot be ignored by curriculum
planners. Some of the ways in which the situation may be confronted
include the following:
1. Due attention be paid to the siting of new schools and the
selection of existing ones for expansion. A recommendation of the 1976-
Education Studies Commission for a school mapping exercise represented
a move in the right direction.
2. Emphasis in curriculum design be placed on the use and
exploitation of outside teaching wherever this is possible. Equal
attention in curriculum design and teacher training needs to·be paid
to the use of co-operative teaching and the use of more able children
as group leaders.
3. Official recognition and encouragement of the practice of
splitting lower classes (1-3) into two sessions of specified duration
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(say 3 hours each) where enrolments in single classes top 55, and where
inspectorate approval is obtained.
Consideration of shortened double-shift teaching in certain lower
classes (as recommended in 3 above) is an issue of the highest importance,
and one which might arouse deep concern or fears of parents and teachers
that their pupils were being given 11 ess education l• There must therefore
be no suggestion that this alternative is a permanent measure; it can be
abandoned once staffing improves. For the present it certainly represents
a viable and feasible short-term solution for many overworked primary
teachers; it provides an opportunity for them to use the kind of methods
and individual attention which the teaching of basic skills demands.
Needless to say, the acceptance of such an officially permitted alternative
would have radical implications for curriculum design.
6.2 Economic and Political Context of Curriculum Change
Any change in the school curricula must, naturally, be seen in the
light of economic and political priorities in Lesotho's development. It
is hardly appropriate to dwell on these in this project. Yet it is
important to stress that they must never at any stage be ignored or
merely relegated to specific subjects in school or college such as
IISocial Studies ll or IIDevelopment Studies ll• Issues such as the role of
agriculture in national development, the importance of conservation of
soil and other natural resources, and the development of attitudes of
self-reliance must permeate the curriculum inside and outside the school.
A salient feature of the recommendations emanating from the National
Dialogue is the total commitment to rural education. The inherited syst~m
is condemned for alienating the young from the rural and agricultural
-51-
communities that produced them. It is maintained that the educational
system must produce individuals who have a healthy attitude towards
agriculture. To achieve that, it is argued, agriculture must be an
integral part of the school curricula. Now, it must be appreciated that
this trend in effect represents the re-introduction of a feature of
"col on ial education" which the people had rejected during the colonial
era! What had made agriculture unacceptable as a school subject then
was the prevailing value system: agriculture was the lowest form of
labour activity with regard to prestige in tlie'viewof the dominant
colonial culture. Its acceptability after independence cannot be taken
for granted. It must be demonstrated throughout the country that,
contrary to the colonial view, agricultural labour has the highest
dignity and will receive worthy social recognition as well as adequate
economic rewards.
There is little doubt that the aim of motivating children to a
healthy attitude towards the land as a means of livelihood is commendable,
particularly in a landlocked and economically dependent country like
Lesotho. It should be stressed, however, that the aim is not to
produce farmers out of all children in the country, but to develop the
right attitude towards the land. The message of the educational system
for the average Mosotho child should be "1 earn so that you will pass into
a better life on the land, whether in the village or in the city", and
not "l earn so that you will pass away from the vill age, away from the
1i fe on the 1and" (El stgeest 1968, p. 233). What is requi red in the
circumstances is a balanced and gradual development of self-reliance
in all the facets and tenets of a 20th century independent Lesotho, and
-52-
not a nostalgic return to the past "as if nostalgia \AJere a cure for
educational problems" (Milburn 1977, p. 200).
6.3 Curriculum Aims arid Objectives
In his press release the Permanent secretary for Education outlined
some sources from which ideas for educational aims and objectives should
be derived. He made a strong case for the analysis of the particular
culture and society served by the educational programme. However, and
as the evidence of the overviews of public opinions from Lipitso and
the questionnaire bears out (see 5.2 and 5.3 above) "it is not an easy
task to establish what demands society makes on education and what
contribution education can or should make to culture, especially in a
complex society in which vast and rapid changes are occurring" (Taba
1962, p. 31).
The real danger with this approach lies in the fact that it subjects
curriculum development to the "passing hysterias and changing moods of
the public (more) than may have been good for a healthy development ....
When education is overly sensitive to public opinion, changes are bound
to be made thoughtlessly" (Taba 1962, pl 17). The general public are
prone to perceive and categorize things in absolute terms and, in
Tomkin's phrase, "in alternating or conflicting cycles of "progressiVism"
and "traditionalism'"' (Tomkins 1977, p. 1). In terms of curriculum and
instruction such shifts of public mood almost invariably result in
discontinuity of theoretical thought and curricula, and in hastily
formulated reforms and changes which are implemented without adequate
preparation.
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The Permanent Secretary also suggested that studies of the learner
and of the learning process yield insights regarding the outcomes of
learning, such as the necessity of fostering multiple development toward
social, intellectual and emotional maturity. That view was reiterated
and endorsed by Dr. Otaala's submission at the National Seminar that no
one can effectively develop a relevant curriculum without first under
standing the child, how it learns and interacts with a given environment.
Information from such studies does serve the additional function of
helping to determine what is feasible at anyone point of development,
or the appropriate level at which certain outcomes are attainable.
Thus studies of developmental sequence should indicate what degree of
intellectual, emotional or social maturity can be achieved by pupils at
different age levels, with diverse abilities and varying patterns of
social learning.
Thirdly, the press release stressed the necessity for studying
the subjects and subject areas which compose the existing school
programmes in order to decide which intellectual and practical skills
and understandings are appropriate. This refers, of course, to some of
the requirements in the various disciplines which represent knowledge.
That approach proposed such aims as the ability to think in a logical
and disciplined way, the command of the symbols in which thought is
expressed, and the range of understandings that the subjects represent.
The set of broad aims of the nature outlined above and in the press
release may perhaps be articulated more precisely by educationists, and
less so by the lay public. Nevertheless they would have to be conceived
in the light of the society served by the educational system. For "it
-54-
is precisely in such a society that a continuous examination of the goals
and demands of society and of the forces operating in it is necessary
in order to keep education reality-oriented: to determine what knowledge
is most worthwhile, which skills must be mastered, which values are
re1evantl/ (Taba 1962, p. 31).
As maintained in Zambia's Educational Reform (1977) the criteria
used in choosing solutions to problems in the education system, especially
in defining curriculum aims and objectives must include the following:
a) acceptability by the people whose needs the system serves;
b) appropriateness to pedagogical principles; and
c) consideration of available professional, financial and
other educational resources.
Put in another way, the crude statements of expectations and
aspirations expressed by Basotho at Lipitso and in answering the
questionnaire may perhaps be interpreted and summarised into five broad
aims or goals of education as follows:
1. The first statement concerns individual development and
self-fulfillment. In this regard Basotho have stressed that education
should provide opportunities for the youth of Lesotho to develop
attitudes of respect - self-respect and respect for others, of selflessness
and self-reliance; that education should foster sound moral and religious
values so as to help children to grow up in their insights into ethical
values and principles. An essential aspect of the concern expressed
in this regard was that education should help the youth to develop
effective communication skills, skills of clear logical thought and of
critical judgement; and the products of educational system should be
-55-
able to participate in a wide range of aesthetic, cultural and
recreational activities.
2. The second statement of expected educational goals concerns
social responsibility. The Lipitso have said that besides catering to
individual development, education should concern itself with society as
a whole: it should promote social equality, foster a sense of social
responsibility; assist the youth to acquire appropriate social skills
and an intellectual discipline adequate to grasp complex social phenomena;
to be able to live and work co-operatively with others.
3. The third statement has to do with the development of Basotho
as a nation and the role of education therein. Here the Lipitso and
other media have stated that education should help the youth of Lesotho
to develop and maintain a sense of loyalty and service to their country;
it should provide them with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary
for a full, productive participation in family, community as well as
national matters; that education should enable the youth to develop
economic competency, i.e. those salable skills, understandings and
attitudes that make a worker an intelligent, productive, reliant
participant in economic life.
4. The fourth statement concerns cultural heritage. In this
respect the people of Lesotho recommended that education should aid the
youth of Lesotho to take pride in things Sotho; to respect, foster and
develop the Sotho culture; to uphold society's norms, values, beliefs
and principles as a base upon which the changing culture is built.
Education was seen as providing the bulwark against, and not the gateway
to, the rapacious assaults by foreign cultures on those aspects of
-56-
the Sotho culture that define Basotho and make them unique as a
people.
5. The fifth and final statement of goals for national education
as expressed during the National Dialogue concerns international
consciousness. In this regard Lipitso stressed that education should
help the youth to be useful members of the international community; that
it should instil positive attitudes to other countries, a sense of
respect and appreciation for unfamiliar cultures; that education should
cultivate interest in those problems that threaten world peace, in
. international co-operation and organizations.
6.4 Lipitso and Automatic Promotion
A unique and very exciting feature of the curriculum development
process in Lesotho during the period under review was the National
Dialogue. The decision to launch the Dialogue with the people of
Lesotho, and to use the traditional Lipitso for that purpose, was indeed
momentous and without precedent. Commenting on this aspect, one of the
three consultants at the National Seminar had this to say:
liThe government and people of the kingdom of lesothodeserve hearty congratulations for having had theforesight and the determination to organize the Lipitso,and this,:culminating seminar. I know of no other countrywhich has so courageously and so systematically examinedthe purpose, the content and the methodology of itseducation as you are doing. I am sure this is going tobe a shining example for other countries to follow,especially the African nations". (Olouch 1978, p. 1)
The analysis of the nature of society - its needs and aspirations -
as one of the main sources for the aims and objectives of education has
for some time now been recognized as axiomatic in curriculum development
theory. The idea has been much courted and discussed at length by many
-57-
many countries which have had a more experienced hand at systematic
curriculum development and implementation; but few have proceeded on to
the actual operational stage. New and developing countries like Lesotho
have only recently been drawn into the debate; still more recently have
some of them made positive attempts to go beyond the conceptualization
and theoftzation that has characterized the debate over the years.
It can therefore be asserted that emergent countries like Lesotho
are in this case walking in the proverbial "foggy woods". That is, perhaps,
as it should be, for there is no evidence that the developed countries had
to face identical problems and at a comparable stage in their development.
Viewed against this background, attempts at innovation and the harnessing
of time-honoured traditional means like Lipitso for that purpose, thereby
turning education into "everybody's business", cannot but be commended.
One of the main issues addressed by the people at Lipitso, and one
which deserves consideration here, was the policy of automatic promotion
in Lesotho schools. There was an unmistakably strong public feeling that
the quality of education had declined significantly with the introduction
of that policy; that .vast numbers of early school-leavers were being
eliminated from the education system without satisfactory or adequate
preparation for adult life. The parents were saying, inter alia, that
their children were underperforming, i.e. openating below their potential
capabilities because they were not being challenged by the system.
Admittedly, these allegations smack of self-styled traditionalists who
take "a dimmer view and have often seemed to hark back to a supposedly
"golden age" when schooling \,/as allegedly of more rigorous quality".
(Tomk i ns 1977, p. 1)
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Whatever educational and economic arguments there might be for
automatic promotion, it must nonetheless be considered in the context of
the realities of the situation in which the Lesotho educational system
operates. It is well-known that the system conceals more than it
reveals, and that a number of vicious factors militate against the
system. Some of those factors that have serious implications for
curriculum design and implementation include the following:
(i) large classes plus wide disparities in the ages of pupils
in the same class;
(ii) inequalities in educational provisions ranging from
significant differences in policies and standards among
the three major church agencies to disparities in the
nature and quality of the day to day control;
(iii) prevalence of untrained and underqualified teachers plus
a generally overstretched teaching force;
(iv) inadequate inspection, supervision and adminstration as
well as lack of other support services;
(v) abject poverty in schools;
(vi) the fact that education, even at the primary level, is
neither free nor compulsory.
Despite the official policy of automatic promotion, actual repeating
rates remain considerably high. An excellent study by the Ministry's
statistics unit estimates that a cohort of 1000 pupils in grade 1 may
eventually produce only 311 Primary 7 leavers; but that only 116 will
achieve that goal in the seven prescribed years. Of the rest, 120 will
have repeated once, 57 twice and 18 three times. The author of that
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study observes that the situation is further confounded by children who
leave school and "drop back" for one year or more (Matekane 1976, p.2).
Unless an educational plan states the contrary, pupils entering a
given cycle are expected to complete it within the prescribed period,
i.e. the duration of that cycle. In this context a drop-out is wasteful,
even if the pupil who dropped out after several grades had in fact
gained basic knowledge that raised his or her standard of educational
attainment. Similarly, repetition of grades is regarded as wasteful,
since repeaters reduce the intake capacity of the grade in which they
repeat, thereby preventing other children from entering school or
causing overcrowding of class and thus an increase in costs, coupled
with poor teaching and learning. A broader theoretical and policy
framework for tackling these problems will be discussed fully later
(see 7.3 below).
6.5 Curriculum Development and Teachers.
While no country is ever satisfied with the education and training
of its teacher force, it remains sadly the case that many teachers in
lesotho lack sufficient education and training for the task they are to
perform. At the primary level, for instance, it is estimated that 30%
of the teachers are unqualified, and only 25% have school or Junior
Certificate. But the main problem may be in the lack of support for
these teachers in the exceptionally difficult conditions of their work.
Though morale in the teaching profession is said to be low, one is
generally impressed by the professionalism and dedication of teachers in
schools: men and women doing effective jobs in the most difficult of
circumstances and who, in Burnett's slogan, "put Duty before Rights
in the interests of our boys and girls" (Maclaurin 1940, p. 98).
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Since the issue of the 1967 Primary syllabus there have been a number
of initiatives towards curriculum reform and teacher training worth
recording. Though none can claim to have fulfilled all their objectives
(and few curriculum projects ever do), each has left something positive
to build on. They include the following:
1. The revision of the Mathematics syllabus in 1971, followed by
a UNESCO/UNICEF - assisted scheme to implement it. This involved
intensive retraining of teachers allover Lesotho, the running of courses
in colleges and schools, together with a correspondence course which was
in operation until 1974. Resource teachers were identified and used for
follow-up and second stage courses. Their successful use represents,
perhaps, the most exciting feature of the programme.
2. The UNESCO/UNICEF-assisted programme for the retraining of
headteachers. A large proportion of principals "'Jere given three-week
residential courses with some follow-up. Although the impact of such
courses was limited by the conditions under which headteachers work
--- most of them teach full-ti me and thus do not have the opportunity
to exercise full professional leadership - it is significant that the key
role of the principal in curriculum development and implementation has
already been recognised.
3. The mounting of two curriculum materials writing workshops in
July/August 1976 and January 1977, and their subsequent follow-up in
schools. The aim of those workshops was to involve serving teachers
alongside members of the primary curriculum unit and other educators
(e.g. staff members from the National Teacher Training College and the
Distance Teaching Centre) in the design and testing of locally-based
curriculum materials to supplement existing materials in schools.
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There appears little doubt that the creative and participatory
approach of such workshops and the link maintained with follow-up
activities represent a dimension of curriculum development which must be
continued and further developed. Too much curriculum development is
done for teachers, too little ~ them. In this connection, the
following passage (reproduced from The. B.C. Teacher, May-June 1948) on
IHho Should Nake the Curriculum' is interesting and neatly fits the
situation in lesotho:
"A weakness of our system has been that curriculum has notbeen the work of teachers. In the past, it has been handeddown from some one 'up above' or from some source removedfrom the classroom. Much printed material has come down tothe teacher Ito follow' ..... Curriculum is teacher educationat its best, and no one should be denied the privileges andthe responsibilities inherent in this particular phase of theteaching profession ..... No superimposed publications, hohigh-sounding philosophy, no arm~chair pronouncements alonewill change behaviour. There must be the co-operation ofthe classroom teacher..... 11 (Maclaurin 1940, p. 47)
By building measures of teacher participation into its curriculum
planning and development, and not only in curriculum implementation,
lesotho can do much to avoid or at least narrow the wide gap between
central prescription and school participation which is so apparent in
many schemes developed elsewhere.
4. The lesotho Distance Teaching Centre. It was initiated in
1974 and besides its work as a service agency and in the production of
correspondence materials for private candidates at secondary level, it
undertakes two functions closely related to curriculum development. The
first is the production of booklets for rural education designed for
adult learners but obviously capable of adaptation for use as reading
material for upper primary children.
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The second and perhaps more important function is the Centre's
current research and development work on literacy and numeracy. Aware
of the fact that many young people leave school without adequate skills
in literacy arid numeracy the Centre has been experimenting with the design
of a programme for those who drop out of school or attend sporadically.
To this end major research work is in progress to determine not only
levels of literacy among young people but their attitudes and those of
their parents towards acquiring these skills. Some non-structured
materials (games) have also been developed and tested. It would seem
important that close co-operation be maintained between the LOTC and
school curriculum programmes; that current research findings and
expertise in the development, production and validation of materials by
the LOTC be fully exploited.
5. The National Teacher Training College (NTTC). This institution
which began operating in 1975 "was created in response to the need,
which had long been felt, for a large and well-equipped institution
which would be in a better position than the seven smaller colleges
which it supplanted to offer the range of modern teacher education
programmes, both pre-service and in-service, which the developing
primary and junior secondary school systems of the country required"
(Monese 1978, unnumbered). Without the closest co-operation between the
NTTC and anyon-going curriculum development work, the effectiveness of
curriculum change will be drastically weakened or undermined. Potential
areas of co-operation, as perceived here, include the following:
(a) The feeding in of information on conditions in schools from
the Ministry's inspectorate and the curriculum development centre to the
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NTTC. This is particularly necessary in view of the transient and
cosmopolitan nature of the NTTC staff; and in order to keep teacher
training reality-oriented.
(b) The use of the expertise which the NTTC is gradually acquiring
through its pre-service course in testing techniques and in the design
and printing of curriculum materials.
(c) The full use and exploitation of the internship year and the
internship supervisors as agents in curriculum development and
implementation.
The NTTC is a new, dynamic and innovative institution, and there is
a real danger of its developing a parallel curriculum development
programme to that undertaken by the Ministry, thereby leading to tension,
confusion and misunderstandings. It is essential that from the outset,
the development of new curricula and the training of teachers to pilot
and implement them be regarded as a single operation.
Equally important is the recognition that new curricula are only
likely to be effective if the implementation strategy and materials
expect the teacher to do a manageable job; and if their introduction is
accompanied by the emergence of some form of sympathetic and supportive
supervision. The latter has to be carried out by people who have the
knowledge and the commitment to help the teacher and that, in turn,
involves the identification and training of such "helpers". It can be
expected and hoped that when and wherever such support is fel~morale
in teaching will rise and innovation become a possibility. Without it,
however, effective and large-scale curriculum development and
implementation is unlikely to be realized and sustained.
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6.6 Curriculum Development and Foreign Aid
In a 1979 memorandum from the Central Planning and Development
Office the following very important points were emphasized:
Curriculum Development must be, and must be seen to be, a
Ministry activity drawing on NTTC and NCll as concerned
departments.
Curriculum is a very sensitive area in which nationals
must predominate.
There are on-going curriculum activities and therefore
a need to consolidate and improve rather than start
again.
These points must be taken very seriously. The importation of large
numbers of expatriate 'experts' to plan and imnlement curriculum
development has, more Often than n6t, left~ tfail ofbewilderm~nt and
confusion in its wake. Consequently, it is maintained here that in
current and future plans lesotho would do well to accept with alacrity
offers of recurrent expenditure which will enable nationals to meet,
plan and tryout curricula; but that she should view with circumspection
any offers to involve teams of non-nationals in curriculum planning,
development and implementation.
There are, however, two areas in which it has to be appreciated
that external or foreign help will, for some time at least, continue to
be invaluable. The first is in the strengthening of particular subject
expertise within the framework of a national policy. The second area
has to do with training: while there is no sure or water-tight "scientific
method" of curriculum development which can be exported from one country
-65
to another, there are techniques and theories of curriculum development,
of evaluation and of methodology that have been built up as a result of
experience and research. These truths have to be fully appreciated in
Lesotho, and arrangements must be made for such techniques and theories
to be acquired and passed on in training programmes within Lesotho and
outside her borders. The one proviso, of course, which must be borne
in mind at all times is that adaptation and not adoption is of essence
at the implementation stage.
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CHAPTER VII
Conclusion and Recommendations
7.1 An Approach to Designing a Curriculum
The curriculum process outlined in this project has had, strictly
speaking, more to do with curriculum design than with issues of
curriculum development as such. (Design being conceived of here as a
higher, wider planning level of curriculum while Development focuses on
the actual operational stage, e.g. compiling syllabi for pre-selected
subject areas and levels of study, writing up curriculum materials, etc.)
It does therefore make sense to conclude with some remarks and
recommendations on matters of curriculum design per se. Let us consider,
first, the elements of curriculum about which decistons need to be made,
the methodology and the order of making those decisions.
The Curriculum design model espoused here is the one developed by
Hilda Taba some two decades ago. According to that model:
"All curricula, no matter what the particular design, arecomposed of certain elements. A curriculum usually containsa statement of aims and of specific objectives; it indicatessome selection and organization of content; it either impliesor manifests certain patterns of learning and teaching,whether because the objectives demand them or because thecontent organization requires them. Finally, it includes aprogram of evaluation of the outcomes. Curricula differaccording to the emphasis given to each of these elements,according to the manner in which these elements are relatedto each other, and according to the basis on which thedecisions regarding each are made" (Taba 1962, p. 10).
Mapped against that model, both the 1967 Primary syllabus and the
current Junior Certificate syllabus reveal alarming and disconcerting
gaps. Both fail to indicate the broad aims for each cycle of education,
and the specific objectives for each selected subject area or discipline
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of study. Apart from the rules and regulations governing the examinations
at the end of each cycle, both programmes consist merely of selections
and some organization of the content of the various school subjects on
which examinations will be set.
Though the National Dialogue did suggest some broad aims of
national education in lesotho, these still have to be defined and refined
more specifically and succinctly for each cycle as well as for each
subject of study. The Education Study Commission (1976) did recommend
a number of specific aims and objectives for adoption with reference to
primary education (see Appendix C). However, the status of those aims
and objectives remains unclear; they have apparently been relegated to
the "shelves of reports and recommendations gradually accumulating dust,
while the problems of education remain virtually untouched" (Bremer
1968, p. 10).
Another essential component of the above curriculum design model
which is conspicuous by its absence from current primary and secondary
programmes in lesotho is objective and systematic evaluation. The
strength of any curriculum development programme 1ies"in the provision
made for the continuous evaluation of its objectives, content and
outcomes, including its assessment procedures. If, for instance, an
examination marks completion of a particular phase in a child's
educational progress, then it must be seen to be an evaluation for that
particular programme based on clear objectives and outcomes of a learning
experience rather than on memorization of content facts. liThe success
of a curriculum is measured by the changes that are achieved in the
conduct of boys and gir1s" (Maclaurin 1940, p. 47). Curriculum
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programmes must be assessed and evaluated on a continuous basis to
determine whether or not they achieve the objectives for which they
have been set up; to this effect evaluators must be identified and
attached to the National Curriculum Development Centre.
Schools in Lesotho vary widely in terms of geographical location
and facilities available. In the circumstances, and instead of the
current rigid and blanket prescription by the Ministry, a more realistic
approach would, in our view~ be to design a core curriculum with options
and enrichment material. Every child in Lesotho should follow the core;
options or electives should be designed and provided to meet the
interests of pupils and in accordance with the staffing situation as
well as the geographical location of each school; and headteachers should
select from these to compile coherent, balanced and educationally viable
or sound study programmes.
7.2 The National Philosophy of Life and Education
The inherited educational system in Lesotho has been severely
castigated for being irrelevant, foreign and not conducive to the
cultivation of an authentic Sotho consciousness. Yet the exact nature
of that Sotho way of life -- the Sotho philosophy of life, of education
and of development -- seems to elude us. Everyone is in agreement that
there is a Sotho way of life yet no one has so far ventured to identify
and define it with precision. If the educational system is being
called upon to promote a national Sotho consciousness, it's only
sensible that this ideal be defined concretely; that it be expounded
fully and be publicised widely. Intuition or conventional wisdom
-69-
is not enough to go by in this case; too much is at stake. Until this
challenge is tackled sincerely and selflessly, curriculum developers and
other educators in Lesotho will continu~ to grope in the-dark and to
produce programmes that lack the necessary thrust and Sotho flavour.
As an illustration of the significance and relevance of a well-
defined philosophy of life to the development of the education system
and curricula, let us consider two other independent African states, viz.
Zambia and Tanzania. In Zambia the Party and government espouse
IIHumanism ll as the guiding philosophy of Zambian development and education.
For their purpose Humanism is defined as:
lI a philsophy of purposeful change in individuals and societybased on the conviction that the humanity of each individualperson has value .... that human life is precious, regardlessof race, tribe, creed, status or ability.... The importanceand worth of the individual is therefore the central pointin the Zambian humanistic approach to socialization ofsocietyll (Educational Reform 1977, p. 5).
On the basis of this philosophy of life the aim of national
education in Zambia has been defined as lito develop the potential of
each citizen to the full for his own well-being as well as that of
society and for selfless service to his fellow men. Such education
should thus be true to the integrity of individuals as well as to the
needs of our society and our common humanityll (Education Reform 1977, p. 5).
From this perspective the re-organization of the education system in
Zambia has central importance in the building of Humanism, II s ince
education is concerned with the guided or purposeful growth of each
individual, as well as with the cultivation and beneficial use of knowledge
and ski 11 11 (Educati onal Reform 1977, p. 5).
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In Tanzania the Party and Government have embraced "socialism ll as
the philsophy of life, education and development for Tanzanian society.
The brand of socialism cherished by Tanzania has been expounded in a
number of publications, notably the Arusha Declaration of February 1967,
and in the speeches and writing of President Julius Nyerere. In his
Education for Self-Reliance (1967) Nyerere lays the foundation for
future educational planning in Tanzania, provides the aims and
objectives of Tanzanian education as well as the theoretical and
ideological underpinnings for it. He asserts that the principles upon
which education must be based depend on the society aimed for; and about
that society in the case of Tanzania he writes:
1I~~e have said that we \'Jant to create a socialist society \'Jhichis based on three principles: equality and respect for humandignity; sharing of the resources which are produced by ourefforts; work by everyone and exploitation by none ll (Nyerere1967a, p. 6).
The resources which Tanzania possesses in abundance are identified
as land and people; arid relying on these is viewed as the basis for
development. Self-reliance, in this context, means to base the
development of the country on people working the land. Co-operation, it
is argued, is vital for that purpose: work should be carried on by
people together in order to maximise efforts on the basis of equality by
all and exploitation by none. The role of the schools is extrapolated
from this: they should become the training grounds for Ujamaa, and
should set examples. Nyerere puts it as follows:
"This is what our educational system has to encourage. It hasto foster the social goals of living together and workingtogether for the common good. It has to prepare our youngpeople to playa dynamic and constructive part in thedevelopment of a society in which all members share fairly
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in the good and bad fortune of the group .... Our Educationmust therefore inculcate a sense of commitment to the totalcommunity and help pupils to accept the values appropriate toout kind of future, not those appropriate to our colonialpastil (Nyerere 1967a, p. 7).
Thus both Zambia and Tanzania have identified and unequivocally
expounded their respective philosophies of life; they have also drawn
and defined the aims and objectives of their national education systems
on the basis of their respective choices of the philosophy of life.
Lesotho, on the other hand and despite interminable talks on the goals of
education and development, has not up to date seized that challenge.
Consequently, there is no recognizable philosophy of education and
development in the country. For the present it can only be reiterated
that a top level government policy decision in this regard needs to be
taken and implemented urgently.
7.3 Basic Education
The main thrust of the crude statements expressed during the
National Dialogue (and interpreted in 6.3 above) would seem to call for
. a new re-organization and conceptualization of the entire education
system in Lesotho. From this perspective, the concept of primary or
elementary education gives way to the notion of a basic cycle of education
intended to provide enrichment for life in the perspective of life-long
education. The cycle or phase that affects the great majority of children,
and whi ch may 'Well be the only one some chi 1dren will be exposed to on a'
regular basis, should have a'component of "basic education".
In this context, basic education is not, however, considered
terminal in contrast to some other forms of education which lead to further
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study; neither is it 'rural' as opposed to 'urban l education. On the
contrary, basic education must be thought of as providing the maximum
degree of mobility for the learner to meet changing situations and to
continue his education to the best of his abili.ties and opportunity,
whether in or out of school. It should lI aim at providing general
education, including some practical skills and a sound foundation for
further full-time or part-time education ll (Educational Reform 1977, p. 8).
In short, it should open rather than close the doors for the learner.
Basic education, more than any other phase of education, must be
conceived of in the context of a partnership between the various
educational agencies, e.g. family, the school, non-formal education
agencies, the community, etc. It is essential to determine which
agencies contribute most effectively towards which educational needs and
for which group of learners. Though the desired pattern and duration
for the basic education curriculum may be a matter for national debate,
it is essential that professionals in curriculum development should
assume a stern role at the helm rather than abdicating their leadership
role to parents in this critical stage.
The view held here concerning the pattern of the basic education
curriculum is that there is virtue in considering two interlocking and
overlapping cycles. The first cycle should concentrate on the acquisition
of basic skills and extend from Grade 1 to 4. The emphasis in this
cycle would be on achieving acceptable standards of oracy and literacy
in Sesotho, though oral English would also be introduced, together with
adequate numeracy and other basic elements such as co-ordination of
eye and hand; simple powers of observation and reasoning based on the
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home, school and local environment; personal health habits and positive
attitudes appropriate to the age of the child.
The second cycle is a continuation cycle, extending from Grade 5 up
to Grade 7. Two elements are emphasized at this stage: (i) Environmental
studies in which the child learns more about his or her environment, and
actually takes part in activities such as gardening and home science
whic~ help to control it and make it productive; (ii) further acquisition
of learning skills, including further mastery of language skills (literacy
in English is now introduced) and skills in Mathematics and scientific
thinking. In both these cycles of basic education the fostering of
sound moral, religious and patriotic attitudes, as emphasized during the
National Dialogue, is conceived of as permeating the whole of the
curriculum.
A categorically indispensable proviso for basic education, and one that
is considered axiomatic and automatic in most countries today, is that
such education be free and compulsory for every child of school-going
age. The duration of the basic education programme, i.e. whether it goes
beyond the traditional seven-year primary cycle, considered here into
junior secondary school for a grand total of 9 to 10 years is again a
matter for national debate. The only stipulation one would want to
ensure is that such duration does offer:
"opportunity to design the programmes of basic education andof the senior secondary in a manner that would meet the needsof an enhanced curriculum ...• The seven years of primaryplus two (or three) years'ofthe junior secondary, in termsof the enriched curricula, would be sufficient to prepare thechild to proceed to the next stage, or to leave school. Whatthe child will have learnt by this time should be sufficientand lasting to enable him to playa full and useful role inhis community if he leaves school" (Educational Reform 1977, p. 7):
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In conclusion, one need only, point out that curriculum development
is unfinished business and not a tidy operation. The process of
consultation initiated through the National Dialogue in Lesotho and the
momentum gained since should not be allowed to wane but should be
propelled and fueledby continued evaluation, innovation and adaptation
to changing conditions and new demands. The changing of an educational
system and curricula is a very complicated task and one which should be
tackled gradually; it cannot be attempted successfully without large
scale investment in terms of time, manpower and money. The new National
Curriculum Development Centre will need to engage in continued dialogue
with the people of Lesotho and to keep pace with new development in the
theory and practice of curriculum developmentsso as to ensure an
informed leadership.
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APPENDIX A
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE NATIONAL
SEMINAR ON EDUCATION
PRESS RELEASE
Greetings . .
The parents, students and other interested people in Lesotho have
often expressed their concern regarding our, Education system. Many of
them have asked questions such as: Where is the Education System leading
to? What has gone wrong with our Education System; Children seem to learn
less? Why are the children not learning more? Why is the learning often
irrelevant to the environment ,in which learning take space? Why do the
books and other learning materials only partially reflect the local
environment?
The Ministry of Education has been aware of these shortcomings,
but due to limited funds and lack of manpower, the queries could not be
adequately answered.
The government of Lesotho intends to update the education system;
to provide a more functional education relative to the environmental needs.
Hence the urgent need to orientate education provision towards the
national development needs - (economic, social, political and spiritual).
If the above objective is to be achieved it is essential that all the
Basotho, including all the purchasers and users of the products of the
Lesotho education system be given the opportunity to express their views,
needs, aspirations and expectations.
76-
The Lesotho citizens must be able to state clearly what type of
education system they want and expect for the maximum benefit of their
children and the country as a whole.
It is known that the progress of a nation is among other things
dependent on the quality of its manpower, and the development of such
manpower is relative to the type of educational opportunities to which
they are exposed.
Since independence .the concern has been to improve both the
efficiency and the effectiveness of Lesotho education system so that it
may be better prepared to fulflill the vital task set for it.
We are aware that the contribution of the formal school system to
national development in general, and rural transformation in particular,
has not reached the initial expectation. The school system is lagging
behind. In the light of this, the country must develop its own education
system.
The national education system cannot be developed without full
involvement and participation of all the citizens from all the
geographical areas and from all walks of life.
At this juncture we should explain what is implied in developing a
National Education System for Lesotho more likely to bring about the
desired returns.
Initially it means collecting and recording the Basotho Nation's
views, opinions, desires and expectations on education. It means taking
these views, etc. and expressing them as aims and objectives of the
national education. Clearly, a difficult, but crucial and an essential
operation if aims and objectives of education are to be accounted for.
-77-
It must be realised that national aims and objectives for a national
curriculum can no longer formulated in abstraction. Their source and
origin must emerge from:
a) Social needs as revealed in the analysis of society;
b) the needs of individual development as revealed by the
analysis of the nature of learners and their needs as
individuals or both.
c) In a similar manner both the choice of content and its
organization need to be accounted for by an analysis of
the unique characteristics of the knowledge represented
by school subjects and of the characteristics of the
learning process.
It means redefining and reformulation of aims and objectives for
each Cycle or Level; for each Year - Group or Form and planning the
syllabi accordingly. It means, among other things, educating children
growing up in this country in the medium of their environment. Indeed,
it is important to realise that the school is a distributor of knowledge
rather than a manufacturer, and this implies reference points outside
school for the subjects it teaches. These reference points lie in
cultures outside the school on which the school subjects depend and to
which they refer.
In this context, teachers will need the appropriate tools for their
trade. It means taking the necessary steps to improve the learning
process and opportunities in the classroom by making available to the
teachers and the pupils relevant educational materials, suitable furniture
and equipment as well as provision of adequate classroom accommodation.
-78-
It must be recognised and accepted that the Basotho children need a better
learning environment, they need suitable books and other related materials
if they are to learn what is required by an ever changing world.
Consequently, the country's education system is in need, great need
of the supportive services of a II curriculum Centre ll as a IIPower-house ll to
meet the needs of the users: i.e. teachers, pupils and schools, as well
as the education needs of the adult community in the perspective of
continuing education and in the context of lI education and development ll•
What steps need be undertaken to ensure the involvement of the
people during the process of establishing a National Educational system?
This topic has already been introduced by the Permanent Secretary
over the radio.
This press release is asking all the Basotho to express their views
on the educational needs of the country.
There will be at intervals during the next two months or so, speci:al
radio programmes explaining the need of the National Education System.
A special committee will be assigned the responsibility of collecting
and summari zi ng the vi eVlS expressed. The residents of Lesotho wi 11 be
able to forward in either Sosotho or English their opinions to any
newspaper in Lesotho, to the radio station or to the special Curriculum
Committee whose address is: Education Dialogue, P.O. Box MS 47, Ministry
of Education, Maseru, Lesotho.
The above special committee will be representative. It will be a
cross-sectional committee which will assume the responsibility of
collecting the views for a IINational Seminar on Education ll to be held on
a date yet to be announced.
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The special committee will prepare a summary of all the views
expressed in the newspapers, the radio, at Pitsos or by letters. The
summary will become the basis for further discussion at a National
Seminar.
The purpose of the National Seminar will be to have a national
representative body of Basotho from all social, political and administrative
levels review the views as expressed by the people. Hopefully such a
group will reach some degree of agreement on what the nation wants for
its schools. Such an agreement on needs will be given to the "Curriculum
Developers" who will use it as a frame of reference for the redefining
and reformulation of aims and objectives for the National Education
system and its Curricula.
No illusions can be created at this stage, the development of a
national education system will take many years to evolve. Much assistance
from donor countries will be required to complete the task. Once the
basics of a national education system will have been developed, there
will be need to continually adopt and adjust it to society's needs. In
other words, to have relevance to the national situation, the educational
system will have to be sufficiently flexible to adjust to the nation's
needs.
In order to assist the readers of this press release express their
views, we are adding a few questions which could generate some response
from the Basotho. These are only a few of many possible questions. Any
questions or reactions may be addressed to the special committee:
1. What are the most important things that all children should be
able to do well before leaving school?
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2. What should be expected of a teacher? of a primary school
pupil? of secondary pupils? of a university student?
3. What are the most necessary things that children should know
about for living in Lesotho today?
4. Is it important to preserve the culture of the Basotho people?
What should the schools be doing about it? in Language,
Mathematics, arts and crafts, etc.
5. In what ways can the people, especially parents, and the
schools work together to improve the education of the
children?
6. What do you believe is wrong with the present education system,
what worries you? What should be changed? Can you suggest
some desired changes?
SEBAKA SA LIPUISANO:
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APPENDIX B
LESOTHO
LEKALA LA THUTO
KHUBU EA TABA EO HO TLANG HO BUISANOA KA EDNA - IITHUTO LESOTHO II
NA E HLILE E THUSA LESOTHO HO RALA METHEO E TSITSITSENG EABOPHELO BA KA MOSO NA?
VICTORIA HOTEL - MASERU
LA 15,16,17,18 MOTSEANONG, 1978.
MANTAHA: 15 MOTSEANONG, 1978.
2:00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m. NGOLISO EA BA TLILENG SEBOKENG. KOPANOEA LITHO TSA KOMITI LE BAELETSI BATSOANG NIGERIA LE KENYA.
LABOBELI: 16 MOTSEANONG, 1978.
8.30 a.m.
9.00 a.m.
MOHLOMPHEHI TONA-KHOLO, DR. LEABUAJONATHAN 0 BULA SEBOKA KA MOL.I.\O - PUO EAMOHELANG BA TLILENG SEBOKENG, LE HOHOPOTSA BOHLE SEPHEO SA LESOTHO KAMOOSE QAQISITSOENG KATENG BUKENG EA MEREROEA LILEMO TSE HLANO.
KHETHO EA BATSAMAISI LE BASEBELETSI BASEBOKA.
9.30 a.m. TEE TEE
10.00 a.m. KAROLO EA PELE EA TSEBETSO
MONGHALI O.M. SEHERI - MONGOLI OA KAMEHLALEKALENG LA THUTO, 0 ETSA PUO EASELELEKELA EO KA EONA A TEKELANG SEBOKAMAEMO AO THUTO LESOTHO E SEBETSANG TLAS'A'ONA; LE SEO LEKALA LA THUTO LE SELELEKISANG HO EA KA MERERO EA LILEMO TSEHLANO. A NTAN'O BOTSA SEBOKA POTSO: IINABANA BA RONA BA RUTOE/ITHUTE ENG NA?II
TLHAKISO:
12.45 - 2.15 p.m.
2.15 p.m.
3.30 p.m.
5.00 p.m.
8.00 p.m.
LABORARO 17 MOTSEANONG, 1978.
8.30 a.m.
10.00 a.m.
A.M.
12.40 - 2.00 p.m.
2.15 p.m.
3.30 p.m.
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LITHO TSE SENG KAE TSA SEBOKA LI ARABELAPUO EA MONGOLI OA KAMEHLA.
LIJO TSA MOTSEARE
KAROLO EA BOBELI EA TSEBETSO
TLALEHO EA MAIKUTLO A BOKELLETSOENGLIPITSONG KA E MONG OA LITHO TSA KOMITI.
UPUISANO
TEE TEE
TSOELOPELE EA LIPUISANO LIHLOTSOANENG.TSETSETHO EA POTSO, HO BOPJOA MAIKUTLOHOUMA TABA ENA: "BANA BA RONA BA RUTOE/ITHUTE ENG NA?"
LITSEBISO
PHUTHEHO EA BANGOLI/BATLALEHI
KAROLO EA BORARO EA TSEBETSO
DR. GILBERT PAUL OLOUCH (E MONG OABAELETSI) 0 FANA KA PUO: "BANA BA RONABA RUTOE/ITHUTE ENG NA?"
UPUISANO
TEE TEE
KAROLO EA BONE EA TSEBETSO
PUO KA SETHO SA KOMITI HOLIMA MAIKUTLOA HLAHILENG LIPTISONG.
UPUISANO
LIJO TSA MOTSEARE
TSETSETHO EA MAIKUTLO LIHLOTSOANENG
TEE TEE
4.00 p.m.
P.M.
6.00 - 8.00 p.m.
LABONE: 18 MOTSEANONG, 1978
8.00 a.m.
10.00 a.m.
10.30 a.m.
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KAROLO EA BOHLANO EA TSEBETSO
PUO KA D. BABS FAFUNWA (E MONG OABAELETSI) "LIKOLO LI KA FIHLELA SELABALABELOANG LE SE LEBELETSOENG KE BANA,BATSOALI, LE SECHABA JOANG?" LITSELANATSA HO RUTA LE HO ITHUTA - TSEBELISO EAPUO KAPA LIPUO THUTONG.
LIPUISANO
HO KA HOTHOE KHEFUl HANYENYANE.
TSETSETHO EA MAIKUTLO LIHLOTSOANENG
KAROLO EA BOTSELELA EA TSEBETSO
PUO KA DR. BARNABAS OTAALA (E MONG OABAELETSI) "LIKOLO LI KA FIHLELA SELABALABELOANG LE SE LEBELETSOENG KE BANA,BATSOALI LE SECHABA JOANG?" "KHOLO LEKHOLISO EA NGOANA LE KELELLO EA HAE, HOIPAPISITSOE LE SEO NGOANA A KA SEFIHLELANG KAPA HONA HO TSEBA HO SE ETSAKA LINAKO TSE FAPANENG HO HOLENG HOAHAE, KELELLONG LE 'MELENG'.
LIPUISANO
TEE TEE
KAROLO EA BOSUPA EA TSEBETSO
PUO KA E MONG OA LITHO TSA KOMITI
LITLHOPHO-BOCHA TSE KA ETSOANG HO LEKAHO NTLAFATSA HO OTLOLIA, HO MATLAFATSALE HO HOLISA TSAMAISO EA THUTO LESOTHO,HORE SECHABA, LIKEREKE, LE 'MUSO - BOHLEBOHLE BA AMEHANG BA TSEBE HO TSOARISANA,HO TLATSANA LE HO TSOARANA KA MATSOHOTSAMAISON EA THUTO MOLEMONG OA BOHLE.
LIPUISANO
BAELETS I BA LE I MOHO BA ARABELA LIPOTSOTSE AKARETSANG LE HO THETHA TSEBETSO.
12.45 - 2.00 p.m.
2.15 p.m.
4.00 p.m.
P.M.
P.M.
LABOHLANO: 19 MOTSEANONG, 1978
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LIJO TSA MOTSEARE
BANGOLI/BATLALEHI BA HLOPHISISA LE HOTHETHA LITLALEHO TSA BONA, 'ME BA LIBEHE KAPELE HO LIHLOTSOANA TSA BONA HORELI TSETSETHOE, LE HO ANANELOA.
KAROLO EA BOROBELI EA TSEBETSO
LITLALEHO LI TEKOA KAPELE HO SEBOKA HORELI HLAHLOBISISOE, LI NTANO AMOHELOA LEHO FETISOA.
MOHLOMPHEHI LETONA LA THUTO, MONGHALIA.S. MOHALE 0 KOALA SEBOKA KA MOLAO.
LIJO TSA MANTSIBOEA
HORENG TSA HOSENG HO KHUTLELOA MAHAE.
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APPENDIX B
(ENGLISH VERSION)
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
THEME OF SEMINAR - EDUCATION IN LESOTHO
VENUE: VICTORIA HOTEL - MASERU15, 16, 17, 18 MAY, 1978.
~10NDAY: 15 MAY, 1978
2.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.
8.00 p.m.
TUESDAY: 16 MAY 1978
8.30 a.m.
9.00 a.m.
9.30 a.m.
10.00 a.m.
N.B.
12.45 - 2.15 p.m.
2.15 p.m.
REGISTRATION OF PARTICIPANTS.
CURRICULUM COMMITTEE MEETS CONSULTANTSAND CONFERENCE MONITOR.
OPENING SESSION
HONOURABLE PRIME MINISTER, DR. LEABUAJONATHAN OFFICIALLY OPENS CONFERENCE.WELCOME ADDRESS AND INTRODUCTIONS.
ELECTION OF CONFERENCE OFFICERS, GROUPCHAIRPERSONS AND RECORDERS.
TEA BREAK
PLENARY SESSION I
A CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS AND INTRODUCTION OFTHE DAYIS THEME: "WHAT SHOULD OURCHILDREN LEARN?II - PERMANENT SECRETARYFOR EDUCATION, O.M. SEHERI
LEADING DISCUSSIONS BY A FEW PARTICIPANTS.
LUNCH BREAK
PLENARY SESSION 2
PRESENTATION: "AN OVERVIEW OF OPINIONSARISING FROM LIPITSO - A SUMMARY - VERYBRI EF" BY C.M. BOHLOKO
3.30 p.m.
4.00 p.m.
5.00 p.m.
8.00 p.m.
WEDNES DAY, 17 ~1AY, 1978
8.30 a.m.
10.00 a.m.
ll.OOa.m.
12.45 - 2.00 p.m.
2.15 p.m.
3.30 p.m.
4.00 p.m.
5.00 p.m.
8.00 p.m.
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DISCUSSIONS
TEA BREAK
GROUP DISCUSSIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
MEETINGS: PLENARY RAPPORTERS:CURRICULUM COMMITTEE, CONSULTANTS,CONFERENCE MONITOR AND CHAIRMAN.
PLENARY SESSION 3
DR. GILBERT PAUL OLOUCH (CONSULTANT)SPEAKS ON : "WHAT SHOULD OUR CHILDRENLEARN?"
DISCUSSION
TEA BREAK
PLENARY SESSION 4
PRESENTATION BY W.M. BUKUTOPIC: "AN OVERVIEI~ OF SALIENT PUBLICOPINIONS FROM QUESTIONNAIRES".
DISCUSSIONS
LUNCH BREAK
GROUP DISCUSSIONS
TEA BREAK
PLENARY SESSION 5
DR. BABS FAFUNWA (CONSULTANT) SPEAKS ON:"HOW BEST CAN SCHOOLS HELP CHILDRENLEARN? - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES ANDLANGUAGE POLI CY" .
DISCUSSIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
PREPARATIONS OF PLENARY SESSIONS ANDGROUP REPORTS. REVIEW AND PLANNINGMEETINGS.
THURSDAY 18 MAY, 1978
8.00 a.m.
10.00 a.m.
10.30 a.m.
11 .30 a. m.
12.45 - 2.00 p.m.
2.15 p.m.
4.00 p.m.
6.00 p.m.
FRIDAY, 19 MAY 1978.
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PLENARY SESSION 6
PRESENTATION OF PAPER BY DR. BARNABASOTAALA (CONSULTANT) ON: "HOW BEST CANCHILDREN LEARN? - CHILD DEVELOPMENT"
01 SCUSS IONS
TEA BREAK
PLENARY SESSION 7
PRESENTATION OF BRIEF PAPERS ON "WHATORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES AND MECHANISMSOF SUPPORT ARE NEEDED TO FACILITATEMEANINGFUL PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THEPEOPLE, CHURCHES AND GOVERN~1ENT IN THEPROVISION OF EDUCATIOW - MEMBERS OFTHE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE.
GROUP DISCUSSIONS
LUNCH BREAK
PANEL OF CONSULTANTS ANSWER QUESTIONSFROM PARTICIPANTS.
PREPARATION OF GROUP REPORTS BY GROUPCHAIRMEN AND RECORDERS.
PRESENTATION OF GROUP REPORTS BYRECORDERS.
OFFICIAL CLOSING OF SEMINAR BY HON.A.S. MOHALE, MINISTER OF EDUCATION.
DEPARTURES IN THE MORNING HOURS.
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APPENDIX C
The Aims and Objectives of Primary Education in Lesotho.
Extract from the report of the Education Study Commission, 1976
1. 1.0
1.1.1
The general aim of Primary Education is to help each child todevelop fully as an individual and as a member of hiscommunity. In pursuance of this goal the Commission:
recommends that the following specific aims and objectives beadopted for Lesotho:
1.1.1.1 To ensure permanent and functional literacy in Sesotho andEnglish, and basic numeracy as a foundation for furtherlearning and effective living.
1.1.1.2 To help children to an understanding and acceptance of thehighest standards of social living needed in present dayLesotho society.
1.1.1.3 To help children learn about and practise healthy waysof living.
1.1.1.4 To help children understand and appreciate their local andnational environment.
1.1.1.5 To provide pupils with an understanding and appreciationof their cultural heritage.
1.1.1.6 To encourage children to investigate and think forthemselves and to test their conclusions, and thus lay afoundation for scientific thinking.
1.1.1.7 To provide suitable opportunities for a variety of practicaland creative activities aimed at personal development and,in particular, the growth of positive attitudes to work.
1.1.1.8 To give pupils a basic understanding of their civil rightsand responsibilities for effective participation in andcontribution to the life of their society.
1.1.1.9 To provide character and moral training.
1.1.1.10 To encourage the appreciation of culture and beauty in theirvarious forms and to arouse aesthetic awareness.
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